The Hand of Anoku
by Empire-of-the-East
Summary: When a young boy in Australia finds a Shen Gong Wu by the name of the Hand of Anoku and falls victim to it, his life becomes changed forever when the monks of the Xiaolin Temple come to rescue him from it as well as from the likes of the evil boy-genius Jack Spicer. However, he gets more than just rescued as time goes on. A lot more than he ever would have expected out of life.
1. The Hand of Anoku Awakes

Swan Valley Junior High School was one school that was known to be on the unique side. One could not have ever guessed, however, just how unique it truly was even if on the outside it appeared as just one's average public high school. There wasn't really much to it, being a three story building with classes on each floor, with the main building also sporting the cafeteria, computer lab, auditorium and main office rooms as well. In addition, the middle of the campus had a small courtyard of sorts with the wooden 'quad' structure, immediately in front of the weights & conditioning, industrial arts and art as well as what was the various fields and courts for sports, school gym included. Overall, an extremely traditionally looking high school with it's primary portion of uniqueness being the students that attended it's many classes. Of all it's contestants, there were three that were arguably the most unique set of all:

Coby Markos, Ingrid Lofton, and Brandon Quinn were their names, and all three of them were about the most unlikeliest trio of friends one could imagine.

Coby , being a boy of Greek descent, had what amounted to black hair with blonde highlights, further completed with fair white skin and green eyes; his usual attire being a nice black cap backwards on top of his head, an olive green hoodie over a purple shirt, black pants and purple and white shoes; having a lean, slim body and a firm, round ands very juicy butt. Personality wise, Coby is meek, shy and an introvert at first glance.

Contrasting Coby's timid demeanor was none other than Brandon Quinn, a boy shown to be having equal white and also fair skin, but short brown hair with purple eyes; wearing a red shirt with a flame in the chest over black and red sleeves, beige pants and red shoes. Unlike Coby, he had a very outgoing and cheerful demeanor compared to Coby's more quiet demeanor

Then finally there's Ingrid Lofton; the girl who was none other than the down-to-earth intellectual snarker; wearing brown blonde hair, blue eyes; wearing a white button blouse under a blue and gray acrylate sweater vest, a dark gray skirt, black stockings and white shoes. She had her lavender-rimmed oval glasses and a lavender diadema.

"So", Coby started to speak, "Where's the basement, again?"

"You know", Brandon replied, "I...have no idea."

Ingrid rolled her eyes and spoke, "You guys really don't know? I've been there to get some peace and quiet when I study for tests"

"So that's why we don't see you on the study hall." Brandon commented

"Anyway, follow me." Ingrid said as she guided her friends to one of the hallways stairs, the three went down and walk for a small hallway, and went to the second door on the left to go to the AV storage room: the room was filled with cabinets with old videos and equipment, and since the room was almost untouched, the place had cobwebs here and there.

"Thanks so much! Now...", Brandon asked, pausing a bit before finishing, "What are we here for, again?"

"The video for biology, have you not paying attention?" Ingrid asked snarkingly.

"Ohhhh...right...sorry."

"Come on, let's go and find the tape." Ingrid and Brandon were searching for the tape, but Coby also did it, but did it in a quiet manner; not spouting a word; he went to searching, but then Coby asked to Ingrid.

"Um...Ingrid, what movie are we looking at?" Coby asked in a soft tone.

"It's called 'The Interesting World of the Bamboo Forest' " Ingrid replied

"Oh...OK.." Coby keeps looking at the shelves.

"I found it!" Brandon shouting having and old videocassette on his hands, only to be corrected by Ingrid

"That's a documentary on the Reef Barrier."

"Oh...right...I found it!"

"That's a 8-track of ballroom dancing...seriously, how old are this?"

"I dunno...I found it!"

"That's not even a video! It's a talking bass trophy...with the battery box cut off."

"Oh...I found it!"

"That's a sex ed video from Belgium."

"Really?...AH! I REMEMBER THIS VIDEO!"

While Brandon and Ingrid had their back and forth, Coby looked at them and chuckled a little before coming back to search it. Coby moved on from the shelves to some boxes, but in one of them, he founds something odd.

It was a strange looking piece of jewelry, it was an armlet with a golden ring, and there was a onyx jewel modeled like the head of a spider. Once it lightly glimmered from the material it was made of, it quickly caught Coby's eye. And somehow, the meek boy started to feel attracted to the light that emitted the jewel, making him wanna touch it. Slowly, he reached out his left hand towards it, wanting to grab it.

Once his finger tip alone touched it: the armlet suddenly came alive and jumped into Coby's arm.

The armlet was starting to get attached on Coby's arm, the shriek however was more than enough to draw attention to the boy.

"Coby!" Ingrid shouted to check on Coby, and Brandon ran quickly, though he tripped a little; they saw that Coby was trying to get the armlet out of his way. Desperately as well, freaking out as he violently shaked his arm in a futile attempt of removing the foreign object.

"Coby, what happened?", Brandon asked;

"GET IT OFFFF!"

"I don't know what it is, but it doesn't look good." Ingrid commented as she tried to take off the armlet.

"Take off your hoodie!" Brandon shouted, Coby took it off, as Coby had his purple V-neck, but then the armlet jumped to Coby's right arm and fully attached to the flesh. It proved impossible. Even with both her and Brandon trying.

"AAAAAAH!"

"COBY!"

Coby winced as he feels the pain was stopping, and Coby looks at his hand ornamented with the armlet. He looked a it in confusion awe, and wonder:

"What the hell was that?" Ingrid asked:

"I have no idea...but...it looks pretty."

"But it just attached itself to your arm and made you scream in intense agony."

"Yeah but...it doesn't look half bad."

"You think so?"

"Just look at it...it looks good on me." Coby said as he put his hoodie around his waist. Brandon and Ingrid just looked on. Only Brandon agreed with Coby:

"Yeah, you're starting to shape up"

"Brandon...", Ingrid was much more questioning and suspicious; but then she notices on the floor, the video that they were looking for. "There's the video."

"Awww..." Brandon whined "I wanted to find it."

"You'll live; now let's go..." the three closed the door and went right back into the hallway.

"I really like how are you looking right now, Cobes." Brandon complimented

"You...you think so?" Coby said bashful

"Yeah, you should put your hoodie around your waist more often."

"I only do that in hot summer days, give me a break."

"Awww, fine."

On that note, the three kept walking to their classroom, as the armlet keeps glimmering. It's lights were softly blinking, though neither of the three noticed this, largely due to Ingrid sparking up conversation about it:

"Do you think Mr. Jackson's going to let you keep that thing in class?"

"I think he'll be more busy stuffing his mouth with donuts that you having a piece of jewelry."

"Hah."

But little did Coby and his friends know, that what they found was anything other than an ordinary armlet.

Meanwhile, in the far regions of China; more specifically on a temple in the middle of the field, a green dragon was sleeping soundly on his own bed, when suddenly; he woke up to the weirdest feeling. He was tossing and turning and then he felt a growl on his stomach and he threw a little bit of fire.

"Ah! I knew this day was going to come!" the dragon exclaimed in a panic "I can recognize that Wu everywhere." and with these panicking words he went directly up to where the people of the temple slept, slithering as fast as he could in order inform anyone he could find. "I can recognize that Wu anywhere...let's hope no one found it...or use it" and went straight up slithering as fast as he could to inform anyone; Namely, the monks of the temple. "Come on people, look alive, we've got a fresh Wu coming on and it's a BIG one!"

Raimundo Pedrosa, Clay Bailey, Kimiko Tohomiko and Omi.

Raimundo was a tall, well built Brazilian boy with dark green, tanned skin and green beady eyes; Raimundo was wearing a black robe with yellow and red details, a golden sash, red pants and black shoes, the clothing of a fully fledged shoku warrior and effective leader of the team.

Kimiko on the other hand, was a girl with black hair, blue eyes, wearing a red robe, a light blue sash, white pants and black slippers.

Omi was a small chinese boy, with deeply yellow skin - a trait not shared by the other chinese men in the temple oddly enough - and a round bald head that sported mysterious white dots on the forehead at times. He wore a male version of Kimiko's oufit, with black pants in addition to the red robe and blue sash.

As for Clay, he was a tall teenager with yellow bangs shielding his blue eyes and a brown cowboy hat, also wearing a red robe, a light blue sash, white pants and brown boots. The cowboy hat was by the way, a classic '10 gallon' type, even if it could prove difficult to put all 10 of those gallons into it.

"What is it, Dojo? A new Wu?" Omi asked, as he was the first of the four monks to address Dojo coming into their bed chambers to wake them up to teach them of the latest revelation.

"Oh yeah! And like I said, it's a BIG one" Dojo on that moment took out a scroll and opened it; revealing an image of the Wu that had just finally activated itself. This image itself was a moving picture of the armlet as the name was shown in writing above it: THE HAND OF ANKOKU. Dojo explained within quick succession what the wu was capable of:

"So this armlet gives the user the ability to manipulate shadow-like energy, but there's a catch...it's a very clingy one and the more he stays on your arm, the more aggressive and ferocious you are."

"Well, I don't think it's that bad." Kimiko commented

"Oh trust me; you don't want to stay close to it, because the moment you touch just a little bit of the jewel, it attaches to you like a bug...and if a bad guy catches it, how do I put it...the steak will burn!"

Clay gasped in response to that, exclaiming out:

"That sounded serious!"

"You better believe it is! So we better mobilize before someone founds it, or worse...wear it!"

And so the gang got immediately into action: As Dojo turned giant and the four monks rode to the destination of the Hand of Ankoku. Later on, back with Coby's location; the classes were just dismissed, as the students were now waiting outside, Coby, Brandon and Ingrid got out of the school building; with the meek boy being unaware of what he got himself into.

He had a smile on his face as he casually went about with the Wu on his arm, even, blissfully unaware at the moment of what it truly was.

"Wow, Coby" Ingrid commented "Never saw you with that type of smile before."

"What do you mean?"

"Never saw you look so confident in a while."

"Am I?...I guess I kind of am."

"I'm shocked."

"So am I...I really liking this!"; Brandon said cheerfully.

"Heh, you are?"

In response to that, Brandon nodded, and then a car came up driven by Derek Markos: Coby's eldest brother and as Coby's oldest brother, he definitely looked the part: taller, more well-built, with shorter black hair and green eyes, wearing a navy blue button shirt

Coby knew what his arrival meant, time to go home.

Coby said goodbye to Brandon and Ingrid and jumped into the car and it drives off...during which point, Derek quickly noticed the object on Coby's arm:

"What's that on your arm?" Derek asked;

"Oh, this? I found it on the school basement...pretty cool, huh?"

"What is it?"

"I...I don't know, it's an armlet."

"You don't even know?"

"I don't know, it just kind of attached to me...figuratively, of course, hehe..."

"I see...let's pick up Yuri and then we're gonna go to get the groceries."

Derek's car went on to pick up Yuri from his tennis practice: Yuri having shorter, more stylized wearing the tennis team uniform. His overall appearance: His overall appearance: He was taller than Coby but shorter than Derek, his black hair was more utilized and had fair skin and green eyes like his brothers. He was happy once he saw his brothers.

"Hi Yuri!" Coby greeted

"Coby~"

"How're you doing?"

"Pretty good...I don't know why, but I feel pretty good about myself."

"Oh yeah? Really?", Coby nodded:

"Heh...I like this, you should keep it up."

"Thanks"

The three boys finally arrived to the supermarket, Yuri and Derek were trying to check on the fruit and vegetables section, Coby was feeling chilly.

"Brrr...this place is colder than usual." Coby putting his back his hoodie. The brothers noticed this and were a bit confused by Coby finding it so cold, as they didn't feel anything out of the ordinary.

"I'm sorry." Coby said to Yuri and Derek "I just feel cold all of the sudden."

"I don't know, it was like...", Coby couldn't find the words, he actually struggled with doing so for a few good moments. "...like someone was looking for me or something, I dunno...can I go to the bathroom?"

"Fine."

"Thanks..." Coby went quickly, trying to find the supermarket's bathroom, but on his hurry; he bumps into someone. This someone, was someone he'd never seen before:

"Are you alright?"

It was Raimundo.


	2. Meeting the Monks

There Raimundo stood, facing the group as someone who they did not know. In all honesty, he would have likely ignored their existence and moved on to what he was supposed to be doing for the temple against evil, had it not been for one simple fact. That Coby was quite attached to what he came to the place for. As a relatively nice young man, the first words out of his mouth were:

"Are you alright?" Raimundo asked again, directly to the perplexed Coby, who as usual in the presence of someone he found attractive; didn't have the right words to start the conversation. He stuttered and couldn't get a full sentence out, something which concerned Raimundo.

Raimundo scratched behind his head, wondering if the other male was hurt or something else. He hadn't really gotten a word out, but from what Raimundo could see, he wasn't visibly hurt, maybe just startled. Either way, Raimundo was't leaving until the other finally spoke to him, for one he was kind and secondly, the guy was little cute.

 _'Wait, what?'_ Raimundo lost and questioned his train of thought immediately, did he really just think this other guy was being cute? He quickly shook his head, and attributed this only to the boy's youthful appearance - even if he wasn't all that much older anyway - and immediately decided it was best he just cut to the chase and - after seeing the Wu upon his arm - get right down to business:

"Anyway, I think you'll need to come with me."

Coby jolt back, confusion filling his mind. He just met the guy, why would he want to go with him? Sure, he was good looking guy with hot tan, dreamy eyes and okay, Coby, get your mind out of the gutter.

"H-Hold on, I'm fine but I'm not going with you!" Coby said, there was more assertiveness in his voice than what he was use to. He was taken back by the sound in his voice, it was his voice but it didn't feel like it.

"Sorry, but, I think you have to."

"Uh, no you don't! I don't even know you, so why would I even go with you!?" Coby hissed, unaware his hand moved to cover the armlet. He gasped when the words left his mouth, his hand moved to his mouth, his face frozen in horror. Why was he acting like this?

"I-I'm sorry, I..." Coby turned to walk back to his brothers. Something was telling him to get away from the other male yet he also wanted to stay with him but whatever "it" was, "it" was winning.

Raimundo on the other hand, knew that he didn't have any time to waste, because if he waited too long, he knew who was going to show up sooner or later.

Sheg Gong Wu glowed, tightening its grip on Coby, making the male hiss in pain, others were coming. It was time to get its host away from those who dared separate them.

"Ow! The hell?" Coby moved his arm out to the opening, revealing the armlet and it's glowing gem.

Meanwhile, a certain someone was hot on everyone's trail.

"You are sure The Hand of Ankoku is here?" Jack Spicer asked, the Jack-bot nodded, having been sent away, along with many other Jack-bots to search for more Wu, this bot just happened to see Coby enter the market.

The bot, using its build in camera and screen, pulled up the recording of Coby entering the market, the armlet in full view.

"Aw, man! It's already attached to someone!" Jack whined before shrugging. "Oh, well, guess I'll just have to take both the Wu and the kid. Jack-bots, attack!" he ordered and the hundreds of bots that followed him everywhere, swarmed the building.

It appeared that Raimundo and his friends weren't fast enough.

People screamed when the robots appeared and started breaking and turning things over. Since when do robots attack this town?! Dereke and Yuri glanced at each other, both with worried faces.

"Where's Coby?! He is stil in the bathroom?!" Dereke yelled, one of the bots came at him, Yuri thought on his feet, grabbing a frozen turkey that was next to them in the ale, using it to smack the bot's head off.

"Let's find him and get out of here! Coby!" Yuri called, turning to see their little brother being cornered by three bots.

"S-Stay back!"

One would have easily thought Coby stood no chance against the robots, though, surprisingly enough, he was full of surprises. Such as one big one that actually, ran in the family.

The bots came closer, Coby glared, "Okay, you asked for it!"

This was Coby's family secret: he was a full-on magical creature, a wyvern, a beast, so to speak. Though in truth, he couldn't speak in this form, only make animalistic noises. However, he knew it would be too dangerous to turn into a wyvern though he was still a skilled fighter. He could hold his own in a fight.

Raimundo, who had only been standing a few feet away from Coby, saw just how skilled the teen was. He couldn't beleive just how amazing Coby was, it was as if Coby had been training his whole life!

Luckily, the other monks had arrived as Raimundo's back-up in no time.

"Raimundo, are you all right?" Omi asked, as the others appreared beside him. Raimundo shook his head, having regained his composure. The others set their eyes upon Coby, who was standing his ground against the Jack-bots.

"What in tranation?!" Clay said, lifting his hat to get a better look at Coby, who had grabbed a nearby wet floor sign to smash a bot's head with. Kimiko gasped as she pointed at Coby's arm.

"Whoever that is, he's wearing the armlet!"

Omi gasped, thinking Coby may be an enemy, "We must get the Shun Gong Wu off of him! Let's multiply and defeat!"

Raimundo rolled hs eyes, "Divide and conquer."

"That makes no sense!"

Raimundo sighed, already done with Omi's failed slang. The team got immediately into action as Raimundo took the lead. He jumped right between Coby and a bot that was just about to harm the other. Coby yelped as Raimundo pulled out his Sword of Nebula swinging it to cut the bot in half.

Kimiko used her Judolette Flip Fire while Clay and Omie teamed to help the bystanders who were either cornered or trying to get out. Two of the bystanders were none other than Coby's older brothers; Derek and Yuri, who were trying to get to their little brother.

Clay jumped in fornt of the two men, stopping them in their tracks, much to Derek's anger.

"Hey! Move it, cowboy!" Derek yelled at Clay, who blocked his path using his arms. Clay didn't want to fight someone who didn't have anything to do with the battle at hand, but...

"We do not wish to harm you, we are merely trying to get everyone out of here and to safety," Omi tried to explain, but his words fell on deaf ears with the other brother grabbed his brother's shoulder.

"Derek, Coby's in trouble!" he said, pointing at their younger brother, who was surrounded by the bots, along with Raimundo. Derek crused under his breath glaring at Clay.

"I'll kick your ass if you don't get lost!" he hissed, his maternal instincts kicking in. Coby was his little brother and he would be damned if anything bad happens to him. And anyone who tried to stop him would be next in line for an asskicking!

"Move. It!" he yelled, this time right-hooking Clay, who grabbed his first with litle to no trouble, this made Derek angrier. Yuri came in from the left to punch Clay; much to the Dragon of Earth's surpise. Omi jumped in, seperating the three.

"Please! We do not mean any harm!" Omi said, trying to reason with the two brothers.

"If you mean that, than let us get to our brother!" Yuri yelled, glancing over to Coby, Clay finally understood why the brothers were so desprate to get past them, the one wearing the armlet was their brother, their family. Clay sighed, ajusting his hat, he had to explain something to them and it wasn't good news for them.

"Listen, I recken you ought know something, it's about that fancy jewel on his arm," he said, that made the brothers glance at each other before looking back at Clay, both with worried faces.

"What about it? Is it the reason all this damn robots are here?" Derek asked, Clay nodded,

"Ya'll see, that armlet is..." he began to explain to them, THE HAND OF ANKOKU, and what it really was, a Sheng Gong Wu, powerful magical objects that were created and used in Xaiolin Showdowns. Clay then explained to the brothers that they were the Xiaolin warriors, fighting to protect not only the objects, but also the world from the Heylin side, who only wanted to use the Shen Gong Wu for evil.

Derek and Yuri gave each other one more glance before asking, "What does that armlet do, if Coby doesn't get it off of him?"

Clay tucked his hat, " He'll get more and more aggressive and ferocious by the mintue and he might be the reason the world burns."

Derek and Yuri felt like their whole world just shattered, how could this have happened to their brother? Coby wanted to protect the world, not destory it!

"Tell me, right now! How do I rip that thing off of him!" Derek hissed, Yuri looked around.

"Forget that! We'll cut it off!"

"That is impossible," Omi said. "The Shen Gong Wu can not be destoried but as they say, when there is a path there is more paths!"

Yuri and Derek stared at him before looking at Clay, who stretched his head before sighing.

"Partner, do you mean; where there is a will, there's a way?"

Yuri glared at him, annoyed, "That wasn't even close!"

"Does that really matter right now at all?!" Derek yelled, throwing his arms in the air, the only thing that matter was saving their brother.

"Look, ya'll, we have to get yer brother out of harms way 'n get that armlet off of him. 'n the only way to do that is to get him to the Xiaolin Temple," Clay explained. The two brothers glanced at each other before both sighed.

"I'll find a way to explain this to Mom," Yuri said, glancing back at Coby. Their mother loved him, however with the family secert, maybe she would understand.

"Yeah, but I'm warning you!" Derek grabbed Clay by his shirt, bring his face just inches from his own.

"If Coby gets hurt because of you ninjas-!"

"Xaiolin Warriors," Omi said, as he kicked a bots head off while throwing the body into another bot.

"Whatever! If he gets hurt, on YOUR watch, you're going to answer to ME, got it?!" his voice ended in an animistic growl, much to Clay's shock and horror. It sound natural, almost as if the other man was a beast but that wasn't possible, was it?

"Y-You got it, partner," Clay wasn't going to question it any further, the man in fornt of him looked like he could kill with that glare.

Jack Spicer was annoyed, his bots were barely holding on their own. He glanced over at the one wearing the Armlet, the smaller male didn't look strong but damn, he was kicking his bots heads off!

"I need that Armlet; Jack-bots! Get the loser, we'll take him and the armlet!" he ordered the bots. Derek and Yuri's eyes widen as they shot over to their brother and Raimundo.

As they did: Raimundo pulled out his Sword of Nebula, stepping between some of the bots while Coby had his back against Raimundo, the armlet glowed as it sensed the danger.

"Listen, I'm not the enemy, okay?" Raimundo spoke out in his trying to reason with Coby. The other teen however only glared back at him with a demeanor that was all too skeptical:

"Says the guy who is forcing me to go with him!" he hissed back, one of the bots took aim at Coby.

"Get down!" Raimundo yelled, Coby ducked as Raimudo slashed through the bot's head, then used the sword to balance his weight before bring up his body to kick two more bots' heads off.

"What the hell is going on?! Did you bring them here?!"

"What?! No! Some doofus with red hair did!"

"Then why are you here?!"

"I'm only here to help you!" Raimundo exclaimed, swinging the sword to slash a bot in half. Coby's mind slipt in two; one part of him said to fight, the other part, screamed for him to get away from this fight. Which to listen to?

"Listen, that armlet on you, it's not a normal peice of jewlery," Raimundo clarified, if he wanted to the boy to listen, he better tell him everything. Coby ducked back down as Raimundo jumped over him, keeping the bots at bay. Needless to say, in the heat of what was going on, Coby was not going to speak calmly:

"What are you talking about?! Who even are you?!"

"My name is Raimundo Pedrosa" he explained as he blocked two bots from reaching Coby - who was shaken by the increasing numbers of robots. Raimundo, with all his force, pushed the bots back then slashed through their mental bodies.

"I am a Xiaolin Warrior, the Dragon of Winds and the leader of the Xiaolin Warriors," he said as he spun behind Coby was still trying to decide to leave or stay, even with Raimundo's words ringing in his ears.

"The Xiaolin Warriors," he began, but was interupeted when a bot suddenly grabbed Coby from behind, making the smaller male yulp. Raimundo cursed before back flipping onto the bots head and driving the sword through its head. When the bot fell, Raimundo jumped down, picking Coby up bridal style then jumping into the air, getting some distance between them and the bots.

"W-What is this?" Coby managed to get out of his mouth, looking down at the bot-remains, he couldn't tell if he was scared or amazed. Maybe both?

"Listen to me, we Xiaolin Warriors fight for the Good Side, we track down magical items called Shag Gung Wu and protect them and the word from the Heylin Side, who only wish to use them for Evil...and that armlet your wearing, is a Shan Gung Wu, and these bots are after it." he said, placing Coby down on the ground. Coby looked up Raimundo, why did he look so nice from this closed dictense?

"That armlet is known as the hand of anoku, and if it stays on you, something really bad is going to happen to both you and everyone around you. Myself and my team are only here to help you, okay?" Raimundo said, his eyes and voice matching in all honesty.

He looked Coby in the eyes, knowing he had to get both Coby's trust and him to safety before Jack and his bots did anything more.

"Do you believe me?"

Coby looked between Raimundo and the bots, thinking over what the taller male said to him, thinking of what was on his arm, and what he had to do...he breathed in, glancing back up at the Xiaolin Warrior Raimundo.

It was no secret to anyone that Coby was an open homosexual, and so it was equally obvious he found the monk boy physically appealing like most heterosexual girls his age would.

However, Raimundo did not know this just yet. Coby took a deep breath, yes, he beleived him, as far as this armlet thing went. He was a magical being himself after all. And, why would he protect him if it were a lie?

"Yes, I believe you," he said, Raimundo smiled at him. Oh, and what a smile it was.

"Thanks. Okay, let's get you out of here and back to the temple!" Raimundo said, grabbing Coby by his waist. Making the teen blush at the sudden contact.

"Wait...temple?!" Coby yelped in both shock and confusion as Raimundo called his Sword of the Nebula, making the sword glow and turned into nunchucks. He spun the pair around, forming a tornado that blew all the bots into the storm.

"Yes, temple. I'll explain on the way", and after speaking those words Raimundo leaped through the air, landing next to Clay and Omi as Kimiko joined them, bring news about the other people.

"Everyone's made it out of here," she said, glancing at Raimundo who still had Coby by the waist.

"Raimundo, you got the Wu and the brother!" he said, Derek and Yuri went up to Coby, pulling him from Raimundo and into one brotherly hug from the two older brothers.

They were glad he was safe but time was ticking, Jack Spicer was still in the store and he still had some bots left. Not to mention the fact that they needed to get Coby back to the temple and deal with the Wu he had on him as quickly as possible.

"If we leave the store, Jack might follow us outside, we can deal with the remaining bots then," Raimundo said, the plan was to get rid of the bots and hopefully Jack would retreat.

Derek and Yuri pulled away from Coby, looking their brother in the eyes.

"Looks like you're going away for a bit," Yuri said, offering a small smile. "Get to see some cool stuff."

"If any of these jackasses hurt ya, don't be afraid to do you-know-what to them, okay?" Derek said, hinting to Coby about the wyvern form he could use against the monks. Raimundo had heard Derek's words, but didn't understand the meaning behind them. However, he did know himself, and his friends, would not harm the other teen. As such, his response came quick and was actually quite surprising given the situation of all that just happened:

"Don't worry," Raimundo spoke in an assuring tone, stepping closer to the brothers and by extension Coby as he continued speaking to the aforementioned elder boys; "We'll do everything we can to protect him from the Heylin Side," he promised, Derek gave him one finally glare before turning his attention back to Coby. "Better get going, kiddo," were the next words he said, to which Coby nodded.

With all of that being said and done, Raimundo and the other monks led him outside as Jack Spicer and his bots were right behind them. With a short nod, Coby silently agreed to come with the monks to the temple, though he was still insecure about himself and about going. He just didn't see any other option at the time, that or perhaps his feelings about Raimundo affected his answer.

With all of that being said and done, Raimundo and the other monks led him outside as Jack Spicer and his bots were right behind them. With a short nod, Coby silently agreed to come with the monks to the temple, though he was still insecure about himself and about going. He just didn't see any other option at the time, that or perhaps his feelings about Raimundo affected his answer.

The five saw that Dojo was waiting for them, now having transformed into the same giant form which the monks hard earlier rode in on. It would be a sight which in all honesty would have been intimidating for most onlookers to witness, with even Coby was hesitant to ride Dojo albeit for perhaps reasons than those would be intimidated by, honestly. Though reasons which he didn't really feel like saying at the moment, after all that they had done for him; but eventually did ride Dojo along with the others - largely thanks to seeing the others get onto his elongated back first.

In his mind though, all he was thinking:

"Riding a dragon...heh...never thought I'd say I did this."

As Dojo ascends to the sky, Coby could see his house, his life getting smaller and smaller on his sight. He couldn't help but wonder...

"Guys?", the boy asked aloud, "I don't think my life will never be normal anymore."

The others all just laughed and said:

"Don't be silly, Coby.", Clay started with, "The tornado hasn't hit the field yet."

"Haha...I have no idea what that means."

"Hahahahahahaha", Raimundo laughed "Just chill, Coby. Until we find a way to take out the armlet out of you, you'll be in good hands, besides it won't take long."

"You think so?" Coby was curious, and also still concerned, though admittedly the words from the monks were able to put him being curious into more of the dominant feeling. Raimundo just confidentally told him:

"Know so."

"OK...I'll trust you guys...for now."

"For now?" Kimiko asked, to which Coby suddenly began to feel like he had made a mistake:

"Sorry...I said something wrong...I should be quiet..."

"No you didn't.", Raimundo in order to assure the meek boy, "Omi, on the other hand..."

"What?", Omi inevitably was confused by that, "What did I say? I said nothing!"

"Hehe..." the group chuckled a little at the small interaction, though Coby was still not feeling secure, so he sees Raimundo and thinks to himself:

 _"I just hope Raimundo doesn't freak out too much with me. I don't expect him to like me very much",_ Coby then looked down at the ground, seeing how he's no longer in Australia anymore, but he hopes that the changes will be temporary. Once they finally reached the Xiaolin temple in China, Coby had a whole new sight to gaze upon: the temple was beautiful with blue tiles and golden ornaments, it looked spacious and humble enough for a temple.

It also most definitely had enough room for all five of them and more, even if it also housed the temple master, Dojo and not to mention other more unimportant elder monks.

"Come on, guest.", Omi called to him, "We have to make the arrangements for your quarters."

As the four monks and Dojo entered the temple Coby managed to make himself follow them, seeing as he had little other options at this point. However when he he turned around to witness the red doors of the temple close behind them, he didn't only see them close but also saw the action of those closed doors that were just the beginning of the adventure that was just beginning for the young Markos boy.


	3. First Day at the Temple

Coby Markos, still with the hand of anoku attached to his arm, did not easily get used to what was his new sleeping place that was the Xiaolin Temple: he had to sleep on a small room, one not far from where the monks slept. The fact that he wasn't sleeping on a bed did not help him sleep better either, he was just tossing and turning around on what was practically just a mat with a blanket over his body all while in his pajamas, all as he heard a voice repeating a single set of words in his head:

 _"Use me…use me...use me…"_

But something shook him up to wake up; Coby opened his eyes to see that it was none other Raimundo Pedrosa on his sleeping clothes was the one waking him was a sight that triggered the homosexual boy to slightly blush, and also triggered his natural shyness.

"Hola, sleepyhead." Raimundo greeted with a smile and look to his eyes that just made Coby unable to properly respond:

"M-morning" he said in a quiet tone of voice, almost like a whimper. It was a volume that Raimundo hardly heard at all.

"Cat caught your tongue or somethin'?" Raimundo jokingly remarked, which made Coby slightly laugh, "So like, you gonna get up?"

Coby just nodded in response to that, sitting up slowly. Still too shy and adjusting to the situation, all he mustered out of his mouth was:

"T-Time?"

"Well, according to this time zone I'd say….4:55" hearing that was the time made Coby's eyes widen, and his next response was not as quiet as before:

"WHY YOU WAKE ME SO EAR-" Raimundo covered Coby's mouth, so he couldn't cause problems for the others staying in the temple. Feeling Raimundo's hand over his mouth kept Coby's eyes widened, though intensified the blush on his face. Raimundo didn't seem to feel the same way as far as Coby could tell, but being a homosexual boy his age, Coby couldn't help it.

"You want to wake up the whole temple?"

Coby shook his head

"Look, I'm just here to wake you up; if you want to live here, you have to get used to our rules; speaking of…" and Raimundo gaves Coby the Temple uniform: a red long-sleeved shirt, a black sash, white pants and black shoes. All of the cloth was made of silk.

"Do I have to wear that? I-I'm used to wearing my jackets."

Raimundo didn't respond, just raised one of his eyebrows. Coby felt like he had said something wrong and just bowed his head like he was embarrassed, and suddenly didn't feel like saying anything else. But the Brazilian put a hand on his shoulder and said with an understanding tone:

"Listen, I know that this is difficult for you, but this is gonna be temporary until we find a way to de-attach your armlet; so right now, you have to get used to this, OK?"

Coby didn't say anything, he just nodded and nervously rubbed the arm which the armlet was attached to.

"If you like, I'll leave you so you can change in peace, be right back." Raimundo walked off as Coby had more space to change, something he clearly appreciated.

After a moment, Coby was now on his monk attire, though still nervous about it, the clothes being pretty different from what he was used to wearing, even if they felt almost like pajamas. It was clear he was nervous about how he looked in them. But still, it felt good on him.

When Coby goes outside, he sees Raimundo in full Shoku Warrior outfit: a black robe with a flame on one of the sleeves, a golden yellow sash, red silk pants and black shoes. Right from the get-go, he could tell that these robes meant something more than the ones he was wearing.

"Looking, sharp; Cobester~" Raimundo complimented, earning this meek response from Coby, as if surprised to hear it:

"I...I do? I-is looking sharp good?"

That made the Brazilian laugh a little as he said in a friendly manner "Please tell me you actually get slang, it's bad enough with Omi not getting it."

"Heheheh, I…..I think I know some….I think….I...I hope I do…..if you do."

"Oh, I do...but I think I can give you some tips if you want to."

Coby didn't respond, his eyes widened a bit and he got nervous, but he still rubbed his arm and nodded in response to the monk's words. Even though the boy was not one for talking much, Raimundo still tolerated it likely because he was just a friendly guy like that. Coby didn't want to tell anyone here about his sexuality just yet, in his mind he feared how they would take it. As he always did - but getting 'tips' was not something he was afraid of.

"Don't worry, if you ever run into trouble...you can count on me." Rai assured him, to which Coby gently smiled; a smile that managed to linger for a moment until they heard someone cleared their throat, earning the attention of the two boys, as they saw Kimiko standing there.

"I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?" Kimiko questioned, to which Rai smirked and said in a sarcastic manner:

"Wha? No?" he said, "Just me telling Coby to try and adapt. Guess that's not important though."

"Well, what is important is that breakfast is gonna be served soon! see you there." and Kimiko walked off after that had been said, Raimundo just huffed with a smirk on his face while Coby stood there nervous as always.

Meanwhile, in the temple's dining room; Omi and Clay were already eating; Omi showing a mildly bothered face, like something was bothering to him.

"What's wrong, little buddy?" Clay asked

"How long will the new boy be staying here?"

"Why you ask that?"

"Because he's not really a monk and is getting so much attention! More than me!"

"Hold on, we agreed that he'll stay with us as long as he has the Wu on his arm, we can only hope he doesn't activate it; you ain't want that wild bronco to get loose, do you?"

"Of course not! Better us keep him here than Jack Spicer! But still, I can not help but feel purple of envy."

"It's green with envy."

"How many colors have envy?"

And on that moment, the rest of the monks arrived: Raimundo, Kimiko and Coby - though Coby wasn't truly a member of the monks. Coby then sees that the breakfast was white rice and water. Funny enough, he didn't seem to mind this:

"At least it's not fattening." he thought to himself, even though he was far from fat and he started eating without complaint.

"Mmmm, this is good~" Coby said between takes to eat the rice; and sometimes he ate it fast, much to the surprise of the monks.  
"Woah now, you're eatin' pretty fast" Clay said with a soft laugh, "You must really like rice."

"...you could say that."

"Haha" Raimundo, Kimiko and Clay chuckled a little, but Omi was still slightly jealous and grumbled. He clearly felt shoved to the side.

After breakfast, the four monks were stretching to start their exercises in the outdoors part of the temple grounds, while Coby was looking on in silence from the distance:

"I wonder if they're gonna like me; granted, I barely know them, but..." he thought to himself, "Maybe…", but then Coby shook his head, "No…..no….it would be impossible to be friends with them...heheh..."

Then, he sighed.

"Can I ask what was the sighing for?" a voice interrupted Coby's thoughts and startled him, only for them to turn around in it's direction to see Master Fung - the head monk of the temple - behind him.

"Oh, hello, Master Fung" Coby said, blushing of embarrassment a bit. "Nice weather we have, heheh…"

"Indeed...I might ask you, why don't you join the other monks training?"

"You...you think that'd be alright? I, I wouldn't want to impose…...what if I'm bad at it?"

"I believe that while you're with us, you can learn to defend yourself; Raimundo has told me that he observed you need to learn how to fight your own battles without fearing."

"Oh….he...he did….heh…..I...I guess...he...might be...right…..and you too, Master Fung…."

"Listen Coby, I told the dragons this on their first day of training, and now; I'll tell this to you: A journey of thousand miles, begins with one step; and now, is up to you if you want to take it or not."

"I….think I want to…" Coby then approached cautiously to the four monks, still rubbing his arms in his typical nervous manner; the silent presence did managed to make the four look at him, and Coby didn't even said a word, he just waved.

"You wanna join us, Coby?" Kimiko asked in a friendly, inviting tone of voice, which made the sheepish Coby nod his head.

"This doesn't feel right. Are you sure that he's qualified to undergo Xiaolin training?" Omi asked, to which Raimundo just said:

"He's got a wu attached to his arm and he's pretty harmless, I say we let him take a shot."

"Harmless?" Coby asked, blushing at hearing that.

"I think we should warm him up; how about we make him run the obstacle course?" Kimiko suggested:

"Sounds like a pretty good idea to me" Clay nodded.

"Then it's settled; let's see if Coby has Xiaolin material; happy, Omi?" Raimundo said, directing to the small monk who just said:

"I suppose it's right to let him; but I won't allow any yacht-displaying!"

"What?" Coby asked in complete and total confusion.

"You know, when you get cocky and smosh it on everyone's noses!"

"I don't understand at all!"

"I believe Omi is saying 'showboating' and 'rub it on everyone's faces'" Kimiko corrected

"Oh…hahaha...I see now."

With that having been said, he began his 'training': He had to go through an obstacle course, made of different types of obstacles trying to test his balance and physical stamina. He had varying degrees of success, and his mind continuing to worry about what everyone thought of him didn't help.

"Oh boy...oh boy…" Coby thought "I hope they're not staring at me funny."

It inevitably made him fail rather hard at concentrating properly; but even so, he barely managed to avoid some of the obstacles, but when he arrived to the home stretch he ended up losing his focus - resulting in his face getting smacked by a mobile obstacle; although he landed with the fingertips touching the finish line.

"Owie Zowie" was all he let out in response to the aforementioned face-smacking.

"COBY!" Raimundo exclaimed as he went to check on him, to see if he's alright, "You okay?!"

"Did...did I win the washing machine?" Coby replied, dazed, Raimundo just said:

"Yeah, you did…..you won it alright….barely, but you did it."

"..."

Raimundo took a look on Coby's face and notices there was some bruises here and there, Raimundo winced a bit.

"Is it bad?" Coby asked "Did my face got disfigured?"

"Hahaha" Raimundo laughed, "Nah. Just a few bruises, you'll be alright."

"*whimpers*"

"What?"

"I think the bruises made me ugly!" Coby said, distraught and worried about it.

"What? You're not ugly."

"LIAR!" Coby ran off, leaving Raimundo confused.

Later on, Kimiko was helping to cover Coby's bruises with base and make up, trying to be patient as Coby tried to hold still…

"All right, just close your eyes, and don't open them unless I said so." Kimiko ordered:

"O-Okay" Coby replied in his usual soft tone of voice as he closes his eyes.

"You managed to do quite the show on the obstacle course." Kimiko complimented "Are you really this agile?"

"I guess I am….heheh."

"Well, I guess I could see that…..you know this isn't so hard for me to get you covered; it's good to see that some men do care about their own image."

"Heh, y-yeah."

"...OK, finished." Kimiko said as he gave the finishing touches and presented a mirror so he can take a look on his face, though instead he looked down.

"I don't want to look at my face right now." Coby muttered, Kimiko saying to him:

"Aw, why not? We managed to make sure your bruises don't show!"

"But I'm still ugly…"

"No you're not, just look before you judge!"

"...you don't understand, I'm not like the other guys!"

"I know!"

"...wait...you know I'm…."

"You're what?"

"You said that you know I'm not like the other guys…..so, I thought…."

"Thought what?

"...nevermind…thanks anyways..." Coby walked away, but then; Kimiko stopped him.

"Hey, before you go…" as Kimiko talked, Coby turned to face her as she went on, "If you ever need someone to talk to in confidence, I'm always around, you can trust me, right?"

"Th-thanks…..I think I can….." and before Coby could go, he gives Kimiko a hug. Something which she appreciated, patting him on the the two didn't know that someone catched them on their hug; Omi was looking at them, and he wasn't looking happy:

"Grrrrr" he growled to himself, "When is the Hand of Ankoku going to come off of him?!"

Later on, Coby was sweeping the floor of the temple with a broom near the greenery of the place. as he continued sweeping off, he notices that Clay was resting not too far from him. He didn't want to disturb him, but as he passed by, he kept sweeping off, though he did it fast, until a voice interrupted him:

"You don't have to rush on your chores, pal."

"Huh?"

"I saw that you were kind of rushing through the obstacle course, you did good; but you need to take a lil' bit more time to focus." Clay said that as he stood up and put back his hat. Coby swallowed a bit as he said:  
"More time, to focus?"

"You think a colt can trot once he can stand on his hooves?"

"Um….no?"

"Exactly, so don't try to go too fast; if you want, I can teach ya."

"That'd be great, Clay."

"No, problem, buddy." Clay said as he ruffled Coby's hair, making Coby chuckle as it reminded him of his life back home with his brothers. So as Clay went to help Coby sweeping the floor of the temple, Omi was observing him again, and not with a nice look.

"What does he think he is?" Omi complained as he was on a couch. "He can't just waltz into the temple to endear himself to the others just because there's a Shen Gong Wu attached to his arm! He should be trying to get it off of himself so that he could go back as soon as possible!"

"Hmm…don't you think that you should try to look at things from his perspective?" Dojo asked, as he was wearing glasses and writing on a notebook:

"What do you mean, Dojo? How would his perspective be different from mine?"

"Well, think about it; he barely spoke to anyone when he arrived, from the looks of it, he doesn't have it easy making friends, that's the first factor."

"And what else?"

"The fact that he is...what's the world I'm looking for?...oh yeah, Humble."

"And I am not?"

"Well...let's just say that his ego hasn't swollen his head."

"I can see that! His head is of normal size, I am not blind!"

"Well, if that's case...why don't you try to be friendly to him?"

"I suppose that is not a terrible idea, perhaps then he will see the error of his ways and realize how great I am!" Omi stood up of the couch with a smile.

"Thanks Dojo!" and Omi walks off proudly

"Hey, that's not what I meant! Omi!...you forgot to pay your session!...rude!"

Leaving Dojo without that payment, Omi went right over to Coby with intent of being 'friendly' to him, in the best way Omi knew how.

"Greetings, Cody…"

"It's Coby"

"Coby" Omi gave a respectful bow, "I am afraid we haven't had a chance to really talk since you arrived at the temple."

"...no...we haven't…"

"Well then, we should fix that right now!" and Omi dragged Coby off with him.

The little monk took Coby to the Vault, where the Shen Gong Wu that the Monks possessed are stored. He had a look of pride on his face as he presented the downward staircase to the 'newbie' of the temple, trying to make him feel like he was a friend and part of the group - even though he was not yet recognized as a 'Dragon'.

"What is this place?" Coby asked, to which Omi said:

"The Vault! It is where we keep all of the Shen Gong Wu! It is where the Hand of Anoku will be once it is off of you!"

"And what if it can't come out?"

"Do not worry, it will! Why? Because Master Fung has assured me of it, and because I've just told you that it will!"

Coby just nodded and decided to look around and check any of the Wus that the Monks collected, opening the drawers of the vault in order to do so out of curiosity; the item in question was a couple of golden arms.

"What's this?"

"That's the Mikado Arm." Omi explained "This Wu gives multiplied strength to the arms."  
"Wow...and..how do I use it?"

"Simple: just say the name of the Wu out loud and the Wu you have on your hands will activate…"

"Just like that?"

"Yes! That's how all of the Wu are activated!"

"...all of the Wu?"

Meanwhile, Raimundo was walking by as he's approached by Kimiko and Dojo.

"Kim, Dojo" he said to them in his usual demeanor, "Wassup?"

"Have you seen Omi? We can't find him anywhere!" Kimiko replied, to which Raimundo replied with a shrug:

"No, I haven't seem. Or Coby too for that matter."

"That's the worrying thing." Dojo said "I told Omi to try to be friendlier to Coby and apparently he misunderstood things."

"What else is new?" Raimundo responded as he folded his arms, "Where do you think they could be off to?"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Huh?!" Raimundo, Kimiko and Dojo turned to see: Coby, who was jumping high, with extended legs and with pumped up arms, wearing a silver and burgundy helmet. "HELP ME! I'M HIDEOUS!"

"Ugh…...Omi" Raimundo muttered to himself as he facepalmed and grimaced at the sight.

Meanwhile, Coby was still panicking while Omi tried to calm him down:

"Balance! You need to calm yourself and balance with the Wu you are using! Be one with them! Not literally of course, but you need to test yourself to the limit!"

"Shut up! Leave me alone!" Coby shouted

"Omi!" Raimundo ran over to Omi and exclaimed, "What did you do?!"

"Nothing, I just told him what the Shen Gong Wus are and how he can activate him!"

"You….you….ugh, nevermind, I'll deal with this later!" he then turned his attention to Coby, who was still freaking out and running around. "Coby! Listen to me! Just take off the Wu!"

"How that will work!?"

"Just listen to me!"

"Oh...OK!" and Coby counted to three to get his feet out of the Monsoon Sandals (the Wu that can extend the legs.) and the Wushu Helmet (an attack deflecting helmet Shen Gong Wu); that made Coby's feet when back to normal; making him fall…

"AAAAH!"

As he fell, the Mikado Arm deactivated, returning his arms back to normal; but he was still falling. On that moment, Coby's arms which were flailing turned into purple dragonic wings, and Coby desperately flapped his wings; trying to land. It was a move that surprised everyone watching, Omi, Raimundo, Kimiko and Dojo.

Once Coby landed, he was panting like crazy, with everyone still looking at him with shocked, jaw dropped expressions.

"Hey guys…" Clay showed up "What did I missed?"

By that point Coby transformed his wings back into his normal human arms. Coby saw the surprised look of almost everyone; then, he gulped and held his arms.

"I think...I need to explain you all…." Coby muttered as he fell on his knees, almost at the verge of tears, "I….I can't!"

Raimundo goes to check on Coby and helped him stand by back: "You have to tell us, it's not everyday you see a boy with a guy with wings on his arms."

"I…..I…...I can't! You'll think I'm a freak!"

"You're not a freak!"

"I…...I…...I….." and then Coby took a deep breathe and explained: "You see, I'm not an ordinary human: I am a wyvern…..my entire family is made of wyverns, actually…..we have the natural ability to shapeshift into human forms."

"Did you knew about this, Dojo?" Omi asked to the dragon:

"No, Omi. I did not; but in his defense, he didn't talked about this...or anything else for that matter."

"I suppose that is true."

"And that were just my wings...I can't imagine how you'll react if I turn full wyvern….it's OK if you guys start to hate me or...fear me...or.." but then Raimundo, covered Coby's mouth and responded:

"We don't….in fact….it's kind of good to have a dude who can turn into a lizard thing on our side for once."

Coby looked at him, showing a 'really?' type of stare, to which Raimundo just nodded with a smile as he removed the hand on the mouth.

"Are you calm now?"

Coby nodded.

"OK, now why don't we all go back to the temple so we can get you some tea?"

"That would be most excellent!" Omi chirped in response to that,

"Hold on Omi...first you have to pick the Wus Coby took and put them back in the vault before you can join us!"

"Awwwwww!" Omi groaned, but did it anyway.

"Come on Cobes…" And Raimundo put his hand around Coby's shoulder as the two go along with Kimiko, Clay and Dojo back to the temple. Coby couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised at how friendly they were to him, he felt accepted into the group now and was more than happy they accepted him in spite of his 'true' nature.

Meanwhile, on another part of the world, there was a mansion; and on the mansion's basement, lies some sort of secret lab where robots blueprints were around, unassembled robots and assorted equipment. On that place, is heard someone talking at the phone:

"Hey...um...Mom, I know that you're busy on that weekend at the Bahamas, but you think that you can raise my allowance just a little bit more? You see, the bolts I'm buying are not holding up my creations and I really need to buy out these new assembly parts….what do you mean you'll think about it? The old models are using are not working as they're used to, I really need to upgrade!...Fine, but it's not my fault if you feel sorry for me when you sip your LOUSY COCONUT JUICE!"

The boy that was speaking was none other than Jack Spicer: Evil Boy Genius.

"No fair...all I ask is for some money, I'm doing this for something really important!" he complained to himself, groaning in frustration. On that moment, Jack's phone rang again, and he replied to it in a huff.

"Yes, for the fourth time, I've already checked the locks, mom."

 _Do I sound like your mother, Jack?_

"Wuya….heheh...fancy hearing from you again."

 _Nevermind that, did you got the Hand of Ankoku yet?  
_  
"Uh….it's a work in progress?"

 _You failed again, didn't you?_

"Hey, it wasn't my fault; some wimp got it before I could get my hands to it-"

 _He won't be a wimp for any longer, the last person who wielded the Hand of Ankoku was a beast more than man, I know, I was there. Let's just hope that he hasn't activated it yet.  
_  
"Then what am I supposed to? Those Xiaolin Losers got the boy too…"

 _Then why don't you just go to go to the Temple yourself!? Or do I have to hold your hand like I always do!?_

"That won't be necessary! I'll handle it! I'll bag that Wu!"  
 _  
You better…_

"Also...since we've already on the line...you think you can lend me some money for upgrades?"

 _So now I'm your personal ATM?_

"...maybe…"

And on that moment, Wuya hung up the phone. Much to Jack's chagrin and annoyance.


	4. Explainations

The sun was setting on the Xiaolin Temple; It has been a long day for Coby after he revealed his wyvern nature to the monks; but after his little reveal; he tried to spend some quiet time for himself, until Omi told him that he had to see Master Fung to speak to him about what he did.

And there he was now: on the main chamber on the temple, facing Master Fung and explaining his wyvern nature to the old master. As both of them were sitting on Lotus position.

"...and so, that's what I really am, Master Fung." Coby had finished explaining with those words. "...I'm sorry if a Shen Gong Wu like this one fell in my hands; but you have to understand: I felt something on that armlet calling me, like he wanted me to be stronger; I'm just sick of always being looked down as a weak one...I hate it...I HATE IT!" Coby shouted, when Coby notices it, he covers his mouth and after five seconds or so, Coby returns to his normal tone of voice.

"Y-yeah...I just don't like when I feel like it…"

That having been said, Coby then braced himself for what Master Fung was going to say of this revelation.

"Young Markos…" Master Fung started "Could you please wait outside of the chambers? I've have a lot to think about."

"Yes…..Master Fung."

Coby couldn't help but still be very concerned about what was going to happen now.

Once outside, he sees the four monks entering Fung's room, making Coby say to himself:

"This is it...they're gonna throw me out...I can feel it…" and Coby curls into a ball and starts quivering; just then, Dojo was passing by with a towel around his neck and a back brush. On that moment, the dragon noticed Coby and gave him a couple of soft hits on the head with the back brush.

"Ah!" Coby was startled, but then he saw it was only Dojo, "Oh...hi Dojo."

"What's bothering you this time?" Dojo asked, to which Coby said:

"I think I'm about to be kicked out."

Dojo chuckled and said "What makes you think that?"

"I….I just feel it!" Coby explained "I've explained to Master Fung I'm not a human and he said 'he had a lot to think about'."

"I don't think it means, what you think it means."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know Master Fung and I know he's not one to judge!"

Coby sighed and before the meek boy could say anything, Dojo continued:

"Look, I know you're stressed and you feel that you have no place in the temple, but I can help you with that; us scalies must stick together, am I right?."

"T-Thank you….yeah…..heheh….then, why do you think Master Fung brought the monks?"

"Well, some things are not gonna be THAT easy, I can tell you that…"

"Heh…I just he doesn't hate me because I'm a wyvern."

"Look: Dragons, Wyverns...I don't see much difference, we've all have scales and we can fly; I have a couple of cousins that are engaged to wyverns, and just their parents mind, but you can blame them, they're pretty old fashioned; you don't wanna be there on Thanskgi-" then the dragon noticed Coby looking at him, with a confused expression.

"...I think I spoke too much."

"Hey, Coby." Clay called, as he came outside "Fung's need to talk to ya."

"Oh...um...okay." Coby followed the cowboy, and there they were: Omi, Raimundo and Kimiko at one side and Master Fung still sitting on lotus position.

"Step forward, Young Markos."

"Yes, Master Fung?" Coby asked, rubbing his arm.

"It has come to my attention that the words you've spoken the truth about your origin; and I can assure you that we have the best intentions to help you...but with good intentions alone, we cannot accomplish our goals."

"And...and what's that supposed to mean?"

"I've decided that one of my monks will be assigned to you as your caretaker: the monk will have the duty to look after you and personally train you on your time here; and making sure that you're on the right track."

"So….I get to stay?"

"Under special supervision of one of the monks."

"That's good….heheh…but who's gonna do it."

"I've already made my decision...and Raimundo is gonna look after you in the meantime."

"What?" Coby got surprised and looked at the tanned boy, seeing that Raimundo nodded; signaling that the worlds of the old master are true. "W-w-wow….heheh…"

"Raimundo, I hope you understand the responsibility you have for the moment."

"Yes Master Fung" Raimundo respectfully bowed, "I do."

"Good...there's nothing more to say, you're all dismissed." and the monks and Coby bowed and went outside; once there, Raimundo approached Coby.

"Come on, Cobes." Raimundo said "Let's get your things so we can sleep together."

"...o-okay…." Coby replied that, blushing like crazy, though Raimundo wasn't noticing it much. Omi, meanwhile; was showing a big frown.

"I get Raimundo is the Shoku Warrior but come on!" Omi complained, "I was here before any of the others, I should be the one to help with Coby!"

"Why you?" Kimiko asked "Any one of us had the same chance to be his caretaker."

"Because I'm me?"

"And what else?" Clay asked

"I have extensive knowledge of the Shen Gong Wu, I'm very intelligent, and highly skilled on martial arts more than Raimundo."

"That's true, still...I think Coby needs someone as outgoing as Rai to help him out since he's really shy; haven't you thought of that?"

"No…..I guess I haven't...still, I don't have my full trust on Coby yet; he might try to make Raimundo go to the Heylin side...again." that comment made Kimiko and Clay stopped walking, something that Omi noticed. "What?"

"Are you sure it's Omi who's saying that?" Clay asked

"Of course it is! Why would it not be?"

"Because it seems that you're jealous of Coby taking Raimundo away from you." Kimiko asked, to which Omi gasped:

"JEALOUS!? Jealous of that guy!? He can't play the third trumpet of someone like me?"

"Second fiddle?" Clay asked,

"That makes no sense! But what will make sense is that I prove to Coby I'm the best master!" and Omi storms off, leaving Clay and Kimiko confused, and shrugging to each other.

Later on, at night; Coby was already wearing his pajamas: purple silk pajamas; the boy was coming back from brushing his teeth and ready to sleep next to Raimundo, although with their distance, when he opened the curtain, he saw something that surprised him:

Raimundo was looking himself in his mirror, posing and flexing his muscles as he was wearing just a green and yellow jockstrap, which of course revealed a lot more skin that what Coby was of Coby, he couldn't take his eyes off. He was entranced seeing the strong arm muscles, the well-toned chest and six-pack, a firm rear and from the look of the bulge, it looked like Raimundo was 'packing'.

Coby didn't know what to do, think, or say. Luckily for him it didn't seem Raimundo was noticing his near permanent gaze. Though all of the sudden:

"Coby, are you back yet?" he asked aloud, making Coby alarmed into shutting the curtains:

"Ah! Y-y-yes! I'm back!"

"OK, give me a sec...I need to put something on."

"O-Okay…." Coby waited for a couple of minutes; until Raimundo pulled the curtains revealing he was now in his sleeping gown: it was a green long-sleeve shirt, with a face sticking his tongue out on the chest, blue-ish green pants with the same faces all over it and green slippers. Coby however, was trying to focus on other things, namely hiding the front part of his pants and on Raimundo's face.

"OK, everything set?" Raimundo asked, to which Coby just nodded.

"OK, your cover and pillows are ready…"

"Oh yeah?" Coby sees that indeed, Raimundo prepared the 'bed' with two pillows and an extra blanket for Coby. Coby softly hovered and lied on the floor, feeling a little bit uncomfortable, and not knowing what to do about it.

"Mhmm…" Coby whimpered a little.

"Something wrong?"

"N-no! Nothing's wrong...this….bed is comfortable, heheh..."

"You sure?"

"YES! Positive!"

"Alrighty then." on that moment, Raimundo picked up something from his chest: a brown teddy bear with beady black eyes. He cuddled to it as if it were an old friend of his and throws himself to rest on the makeshift bed, as if forgetting all else.

"Raimundo?" Coby asked as he was facing opposite to Rai's.

"Yes?"

"How was your life?...before all of this?"

"Before...this?"

"Yes...the temple...being a Shogo Warrior."

"Hahah...it's Shoku Warrior." Raimundo chuckled a little, Coby blushed a little, feeling slightly embarrassed - but in a minor way.

"Sorry…..heheh…."

"Well, there's nothing much going around my life: I was a poor, but stylish boy living in Rio; I had to go to a lot of hustle to go and give a nice life to my big family."

"...H-how big is it?"

"Very big one: 8 brothers and sister for starters."

"Woah! That's...that's…"

"Big? And I haven't even talked about the other family members."

"Oh….heheh….it's bigger than mine."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, haha."

The two giggled a little and the Brazilian continued:

"Anyway, I did have to do a lot to help my parents to maintain the family, even I got to go on...ehem...some sketchy places to help, and even the circus."

"The circus?"

"Don't ask….hahaha; but where else I got my sweet moves?"

"Really?"

"That and because I learned some capoeira."

"What's that?"

"I'll teach you one of this days."

"Okay…."

"So….how about you...anything interesting you wanna share of your life?" Raimundo asked, but Coby got quiet again, before meekly saying:

"No...not really."

"Really? You must have something amusing on your life to tell me about…"

"Not really."

"Whatever you say, ." Raimundo give a light nudge to Coby, Coby softly laughed at, and nudged back - albeit even lighter and weaker.

"Get some rest, we have a nice day ahead of us."

"Yeah…..goodnight?"

"Goodnight."

The two boys went to sleep, Raimundo holding his teddy bear softly as Coby tried to get into deep sleep, then Coby turned and raised his body a little; seeing the Brazilian boy sleeping, and he thought:

" _Should I tell him? Or….should I not?"_ Coby thought " _But...what if he doesn't accept me? What if he rejects me...but, he looks so beautiful."_

Coby shook his head swiftly at that thought, wanting to forget all about what he was thinking. But then, other thoughts invaded his head…

" _Use me...use me...use me.."_

" _N-N-N-No!"_

" _Why not?"_

" _It's too dangerous…..please...stop….tempting me…."_

" _You wanna be stronger, don't you?"_

" _N-No, I-I mean yes….I mean…...leave me alone…."_

*BOOOOM*

An explosion is heard outside of the temple, waking up everyone on the room to its presence, Coby being scared and having no idea what could've made the noise.

"AAAH! W-W-WHAT IS GOING ON!?" Coby shouted, to which he got in response:

"Whatever it is, it doesn't respect closing hours." Raimundo commented "Quick, let's get changed!"

"Okay….is there even enough time for that though?"

Meanwhile, outside of the temple; Jack Spicer was mounting a giant golden bot with bowling pins coming out of his head, sporting a black and silver bowling shirt and a cannon mounted on his left arm. And it wasn't the only robot that as there was at least 10 of the same robots.

And there he was :Jack Spicer - wearing a black and silver bowling uniform.

"BOWLER-BOTS! " he commanded, "READY TO FIRE…...NOW!" and the robots started to fire bowling balls like cannons towards the temple.

He continued in his mocking:

"Xiaolin Losers...come out to plaaaaay!" Jack Spicer said as he had a couple of glass cola bottles and started to clink them, making noise.

"Xiaolin Looooseeeers!"


	5. Jack Attacks

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Jack shouted "Seriously, come out; I don't know how long I've been calling you...and my fingers are getting purple from being stuck in this bottle!."

It didn't take very long at all for the Xiaolin Warriors to arrive on the scene, not wasting any time when it comes to dealing with Jack Spicer - considering they'd been fighting him the longest of any villain.

"Jack Spicer!" Omi shouted

"Hey bowling-head; sorry if I did wake you guys up" Jack replied "I wanted to introduce you to my personal bowling team: The Jacks-of-All-Trades! Pretty sweet, huh?"

"Bowling team?" Kimiko commented, "That's what you've come up with?"

"Just when I thought you tried everything." Raimundo snarked.

"Bowling will be cool like in a hundred years, just you wait!...now hand over the wimp with the Hand….and also your other Wus, but mostly the wimp with the Hand!"

"Let me think about it" Raimundo sarcastically quipped, " No!"

"...jeez, get out of your high horse; pretty boy!"

"Just shut up so we can kick your butt already."

"Not now...first, I want a chat with the wimp that you Oh You Guys Care Soooo Much about!" Jack said the last part as a Valley Girl, or at least to the best of his ability. However, the monks weren't willing to give him Coby at all:

"You have to look to another stable, because he ain't here with us." Clay replied

"Oh really, cause the kid peeking at the door says otherwise." Jack pointed as he sees Coby peeking out through one of the temple's gateways.

"You think we're gonna fall for that?" Raimundo replied, "Because we know you're just trying to kidnap him."

"Again with getting on your high horse; honestly, when you became the leader, you became a massive jerk, I just want to get to know him BEFORE I try to kidnap him." Jack snapped his fingers and a standard Jack-Bot descended and took Coby from his position.

"Ah! Let me go!" Coby protested as the robot 'presents' him to Jack.

"How's your night?...Jack Spicer, evil genius." Jack presented himself as he handed over his 'calling card' and started to interrogate him, Coby trying to squirm out of the robot's grasp.

"And your name is…." Jack asked, but Coby didn't said anything at all, much to Jack's growing frustration.

"We got ourselves a mute one, huh? OK...I'll try this again...what is your name?"

Coby still said nothing.

"Me, Jack, you…."

No response.

"Finish this sentence! I have a name and that name is…."

He didn't answer.

"Ok...what's your favorite color? You favorite dessert? You like the weather hot or cold? Your favorite type of machine? Your least favorite vegetable? The worst thing your pet usually does? Do you have a pet? What? Who? How? Where? When? Why?"

There is still no answer to Jack's questions.

"IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU CAN SAY OR DO AT ALL!?"

Then Coby spat on Jack's face as the meek boy glared at the evil genius.

"I guess that answers my question, now give the Hand you piece of-"

But then, a gale of wind rushes in, slashing the robot in half and whisking away Coby; as it turned out, Raimundo was the one who caught Coby. Though this might not have been much of a surprise, all things considered.

"You see, this is the reason why I don't invite you to my birthday parties!"

"Heh, well I guess that's too bad for me" Raimundo sarcastically remarked, smirking.

"Ugghh, I guess we'll have to solve this the hard way, BOWLER-BOTS, STRIKE 'EM!"

And so the battle began: Coby went to hide again as the monks deal with the bowling bots themselves; the Bowler-Bots were shooting their bowling ball cannons towards the monks, who tried the best to avoid them as well as destroy them as they did most of the other jack-bots. Clay went on to use Wudai Crater Earth, trying to punch off one of the bots with a rock fist, but as it turned out; the armors were harder than other bots, being able to withstand most of the monks' attacks.

"Woah, these are harder than I thought." Clay commented, "Normally these things go down like dominoes!"

"I know!" Omi exclaimed, "Most confusing!"

"Thanks, I managed to make a different alloy to these bad boy's armors, to make it almost feel like a real bowling ball! In fact, why don't you feel for yourselves?"

"Feel this; Wudai Mars Fire!"

And Kimiko launched a fire-boosted kick, but again it just made a slight scratch - much her personal surprise.

"OK, I did not see that one coming."

Meanwhile, Coby was trying to get a better look on the battle, but Dojo tried to make sure he was safe:

"What's going on?" Coby asked, "How's everyone doing?"

"Get down, Coby...you don't wanna get spotted again?!"

"But I need to know if they're OK or not!"

"They'll be fine, don't worry! They've done this before! Just let them handle it."

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Omi was launched towards the other monks by one of the robots, and indeed slammed into them like he was a bowling ball and they were pins.

"STTTRIIIIIKE!"

"They don't look like they're winning!" Coby commented.

"Wait for it...wait for it…"

Coby waited alright, thankfully the monks started to get the upper hand, by pulling up their Wudai Weapons and Elemental Wus. This was much to his relief.

"Eyes on the pins, boys!" Jack shouted as the Bowler-Bots charge, "Take 'em all down!"

"Guys, I have an idea." Raimundo said to the team, "We need to distract the bots and take down that alloy armor."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Kimiko asked.

"Well, we first need to fire 'em up, just follow my lead! Cat's Eye Draco! Arrow Sparrow, Fire!" Kimiko launched a handful of her golden sparrow-modeled daggers as they catch fire, forming a flamebird attack, heating up 3 of the bots and actually finally being able to cause some damage and weakness onto them.

"OK, Omi...now give the hot ones a cold-shower."

"Right!" Omi nodded, "Kaijin Charm, Wudai Neptune, Water!" Omi launched a cold water torrent that managed to make cracks in their robotic armor.

"Wawawait, what are they doing?" Jack asked panicked "Why is the armor is cracking!?"

"I dunno; Mr. Evil Genius." Raimundo snarked, "Maybe you need to learn physical reactions once in awhile, you two keep going; Clay, follow me."

"On it, partner!"

Kimiko and Omi kept using fire and water to make the Bowler-Bots' crack; while Raimundo and Clay used their Blade of Nebula and Big Bang-Meteorang to give them a nice punch, breaking their armors. Eventually, making all the Bowler-Bots lose their armor.

"NOOOOO!" Jack shouted "You have any idea how many hours I wasted on making the alloy alone? 4 hours! 4 Hooooours….this is so unfair!"

"Luckily, for us...it won't take us 4 hours to send you bagging." Omi boasted.

"You mean packing" Raimundo corrected.

"I don't know, bagging seems more practical."

"Enough slang-butchering!" Jack pulls up a remote control, pressing the big red button; that made the Bowler-Bots combine to form a bowling pin-shaped robot; that definitely bigger than the monks. "CRUSH THEM!"

The combined Bowler-bot aimed to the monks and shoot something, that trapped the monks into some kind of bowling-pin shaped trap. That once again made Coby worried about their ability to continue in the fight.

"Eee! Now I got you just where I want you!" Jack squealed a little, and picked up a black bowling ball with a skull imprinted on it; Jack throws the bowling ball at them and just as it appears the monks were doomed:

"HAND OF ANKOKU!"

A hand made of purple energy slapped the ball, right back at Jack, hitting him on the chest and causing him a pretty obvious amount of pain to a point he was sent flying into one of the temple walls.

"OOF!"

Jack groaned as he sees that Coby had indeed activated the attached Wu, and he had his eyes glowing off from purple energy, the same color of the energy hand - even though it was Coby it had at least a small upgrade in intimidation.

"Um...hey...I forgot that you were here...how are you doing?"

"It is not nice what are you were doing with my friends…" Coby muttered on a serious tone.

"Oh, so you can talk now that's ni-OOF!"

A second energy hand grabbed him and yoink it out of the wall as Coby summoned both hands to keep 'punishing' Jack.

"AND MY . . .NOT. !"

"I...I get it!" Jack cowered, quivering and whimpering in fear, "You're not a wimp! You're not a wimp!"

"Now's our chance, guys." Raimundo called "It's Formation time!" the monks tried to make it, though it was difficult since they're still trapped on the bowling-pin traps. However they still ultimately managed to accomplish what they wanted:

"Wudai Cassiopeia Formation!"

Since Raimundo became Shoku Warrior, the Wudai Orion formation received a slight upgrade: once activated, the monks turned into shadows outlined on colors: Omi's white, Kimiko's red, Raimundo's blue and Clay's green, though the difference is that they were lines on arms and legs while the Chinese character of each element was on their chests.

With that formation and its powers they easily broke from their confinement. And they managed to use elemental force to tumble down the bowling pin; meanwhile, Coby took Jack with one of the energy hands - holding him up by the waistband of his pants.

Jack was terrified to say the least, not being the bravest of souls.

"Please, have mercy." Jack pleaded, hoping that Coby would have some mercy on him.

"You want mercy? Let me show my mercy...BY SHOWING YOU THE DOOR!" and Coby used the second hand to flick Jack towards the bowling pin bot as the impact, sending the evil genius and the bot flying.

"For once, I just wanted to go and play bowling without hitting into the gutter for once, IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK!?" Those were Jack's final words before he flew out of the Temple's distance.

Coby in response, slammed the energy hands to the floor before they could disappear - immediately before launching a roar to the heavens. Now the monks had to deal with getting Coby back and settled again.

The monks, going back to normal; see Coby panting, gritting his teeth.

"Um..Coby? Are you OK?" Raimundo asked with concern in his voice, only to get in response:

"Rai..I don't feel OK…." then Coby faced the monks with a excitable grin and said in almost a completely different tone of voice, "I FEEL FREAKIN' AMAZING! Did you see how far I sent that idiot flying! BOOM! I sent him blasting off again!"

The monks had mixed responses to this, Raimundo was admittedly more approving, actually giving Coby a thumbs up and saying:

"Oh yeah, I saw it alright!"

The others were feeling confused, especially Omi, likely concerned due to the use of the Shen Gong Wu. To be fair, Raimundo did get a little more serious after he fist bumped with Coby:

"Now that we got that lame-o out of the map, I'm ready for the next baddie, Where is he?" Coby shouted excitedly,to which the others responded:

"Well, I'm glad you're enthusiastic and everything, but we need to go back to sleep, we'll see if tomorrow we keep beating bad guys." Kimiko said as she, Clay and Omi were starting to walk off, much to Coby's dismay.

"Oh come on, you guys!" Coby said in disbelief "I'm just getting warmed up, you can't tease me like that!"

"Come on "Raimundo called, as he was following his friends "Let's go."

"I'm not going anywhere, not until I beat someone else….maybe I'll battle you guys!"

"What?!" they all were confused and surprised by that. Clay then commented:

"Partner, you can't come to the rodeo where everyone, even the bulls, have left."

"Wha? Look! I don't have time for this! There's a rush of energy still flowing through my veins, and a thirst of battle that can't be quenched, unless I fight you guys."

"Somethin's up with this little feller."

"Look, we have a lot to do tomorrow, let's go back to the temple to get some sleep." Raimundo said that, but as the four walk away:

"...Oh I see what's going on...you think that I'm a wimp too."

"Wha?" Raimundo asked

"You're thinking that because I'm not a monk like you; I don't have the right to fight with you guys, oh no, you just keep looking down on me and talking trash behind my back! Especially you!" Coby was pointing out to Omi at the last part of the sentence.

"What? Me?" Omi was stunned, "You wish to fight me? Are you sure? I might be, how you say, too skilled for you to handle."

"Oh shut up! You think that you're better than me, you overgrown cheeseball!? I bet the reason that you're head is too big is because your ego swells it! You're all talk and no action!"

"I'm not boasting of my abilty!" Omi shouted back, and as the two discussed:

"I think the Hand of Anoku is clouding his judgement" Kimiko observed worriedly and said to the others, "What should we do?"

Clay said nothing, so he cracked his fingers and went straight to Coby's back and gave him a soft stroke on the back of his neck; knocking him down.

"Come on, lil' buddy." Clay said as he charged him on his shoulder "You deserve a nap." and the cowboy and Kimiko walked away.

"Aww, but I wanted to show Coby my skills." Omi said, disappointed

"Well, maybe some other time, buddy." Raimundo said, patting his shoulder as he and Omi joined the others to go back to sleep.

Coby then woke up in a field of wolfsbane flowers; as Coby woke up, he noticed that everyone, except for the flowers was in black-and-white. It was something extremely surreal and bizarre, especially for him.

"Hello?" Coby shouted, "Anyone?!"

Coby didn't saw anyone, until he noticed in the distance the shape of Raimundo, fully colored, and sticking out against everything else.

"Raimundo!" Coby tried to run towards the Brazilian, but he didn't seemed to reach out to him or acknowledge him at all.

"RAIMUNDO!"

"He seems out of reach, doesn't he?" a voice is heard around the field. Coby turned to see, someone identical to himself, but he was surrounded by a dark purple shadow, except for his arm that had the Hand of Ankoku; since the hand was the only thing that wasn't shadowed.

"Wha-what the…"

"It's about time you put the hand in good use, Coby...I thought you couldn't do it."

"W-w-what are….you…."

"What am I? Hehe...let's just say that I'm a voice on your head...telling you to fight for all the things you care about in your life...but you decide to choose to ignore me, because...well….you're you."

"What do you want from me?" Coby said, a little bit timidly, unsure what to make of all this.

"Simple, just to tell you that keep it up."

"Keep it up?"

"Yeah, you rushed with that match head and saved the day! Even Raimundo was proud! You should keep it using the Hand."

"But...they said it was wrong to…..that it's a bad thing…"

"Tch, what do they know; you barely know them, who else is better to know about you that your own mind?"

"I…..I….."

"Think about it, if you keep rushing your way and show how strong you are, maybe you'll get the boy...like that." the shadowy figure snapped his fingers, Coby turning around to see that the Raimundo facing back was a walking distance of him.

"R-Raimundo…"

The figure didn't respond, so Coby went to chase after him; though once he made the figure turn around, it morphed into the shadowy figure resembling Coby.

"Then again...I make no promises." he smirked before the figure broke in tiny pieces, and the ground beneath him broke, leaving Coby stuck within a big hole; then, he saw above as someone was throwing dirt to him. Needless to say, he gasped and began panicking in fear:

"W-wait! NO! DON'T!"

On that moment, Coby woke up on Raimundo's room, squirming and panicking as if he was still going through the dream.

Coby covered his face, trying to recover his breath, as he felt a hand on his forehead. Opening his eyes, he quickly saw that it was none other than Raimundo himself:

"Hard night, was it?" Raimundo asked in a joking manner.

"Wha...what happened?" Coby asked, to which Raimundo just said:

"Jack attacked, you used the Hand, and kinda got a little cuckoo after that."

"Oh no…" Coby muttered, as he remembered what happened last night, feeling down again.

"Hey, hey...look at me." Raimundo asked to Coby, who complied to what the Brazilian asked of him.

"I promised I'll help, and that's what I'm gonna do; ya trust me?"

"..Y-y-yes."

"Good, now let's go...Mr. Pedrosa's class is about to begin." Raimundo patted Coby's shoulder and went outside, making Coby feel better about the situation

"Ahahaha...I'm sorryyyyy…" Jack was pleading, shirtless; dangling over a rope as he was close to a tank of boiling hot sauce; not far from the tank was a lever, and next to that lever was Wuya, "I didn't mean to lose the Wu! I promise next time I'll get it no problem! Just let me go! Let me goooo!"

The Heylin woman sighed and said in a nonchalant tone "I don't know why but torturing you is not even amusing anymore." and Wuya pulls down the level a little bit lower before stopping again.

"Wah-aaaaaahhh!" Jack kept squirming trying to get off to no avail.

"It's not the Wu you should be concerned about, it's the mortal wielding it." Wuya said approaching Jack "Thanks to your cockiness and your pathetic idea of bowling bots, you let the host of the Hand of Ankoku use it and now, you just made faster the inevitable!"

"I didn't expect him to end up using it! How was I supposed to know!"

"Ughhhh….I'm this close to dip you on boiling hot sauce and eat you until there's nothing but bones and your tiny brain!"

"That won't be necessary, Wuya." A masculine voice interrupted the scene; as the two turn back to see that from the shadows emerged a couple of tigers, alongside a tall man with green long hair, yellow eyes almost resembling a lizard and wielding an armor. It was none other than Chase Young.

"Hey Chase!" Jack - sheepishly - greeted, trying to covering his nipples.

"How it won't be necessary, Chase?" Wuya said "Let me remind you about the last person that used that...thing."

"I'm aware" Chase explained, "But...I think you should try to see things on a different perspective."

"Like what?" Wuya asked, "What other perspective is there?"

"I believe you're not seeing the true potential of the Hand of Ankoku, it can turn its hapless host into our biggest enemy...or our most valuable ally."

"I see…..interesting idea…" Wuya smirked

"What is? Can anyone explain me? And for that matter can anyone put me down, I'm starting to get woozy."

Wuya lowered down a little bit more of Jack's rope, making the red-haired evil genius holler more of fear, before stopping him up, almost three noses close.

"How do you want us to do that?" Wuya asked, intrigued, but Chase didn't respond, he only gave an evil smirk.


	6. The Reveal

Coby Markos was having a hard time trying to balance himself, using just his head and his arms, as Omi was doing it with ease. Coby couldn't help but stumble, wobble and even groan a little as he struggled to keep his balance without any previous practice for this in his life. Though as Raimundo supervised it and felt some trust on it, Coby still had a hard time.

"Now now, young Markos." Omi said as he was keeping his balance, "You must keep your balance, you need to let loose of those doubts and insecurities about you."

"I….I….it's hard."

"Well, you know what they say: Job Hard, Game Hard."

"Work Hard, Play Hard?" Raimundo asked, raising an eyebrow, Omi just replying with a blunt:

"Same similarity!"

"Hehe...points for redundancy."

"Hahaha" Coby let out a little laugh, making Raimundo slightly laugh in return.

"What's so funny?" Omi asked, though he didn't get any answer from either Coby or Raimundo. At least not one that he liked or understood, anyway.

"All right, for once listen to Omi...take a deep breath and try to relax."

"Okay….okay….relax…" Coby tried to take deep breaths and try to get his mind empty, only for it indeed also proving more easily said than quite a lot at that as well. The boy just couldn't concentrate on a single thing at the moment to save his life it seemed. He was starting to imagining things, particularly about Raimundo: normally these imaginations had him shirtless. Sometimes even wet.

"Mmhnn...nghh…"

He couldn't stop the imagery either: seeing Raimundo playing soccer, surfing or even coming back with a lot of scars on his body, inviting him was too much for Coby and made him stumble and fall.

"Aaagh!" Coby snapped back to reality, looking to the sky and realizing he had failed to keep balance - something he was slightly embarrassed about.

Omi and Raimundo looked at him, seeing if he's alright.

"Coby?" Omi asked, "Are you ok?"  
"Um...I...eeehe…" then Coby noticed Kimiko walking by with her pad, then he got an idea: "Hey um, I have to talk to Kimiko about, well…be right back!"

"Okay then." Raimundo, suspicious but shrugging, "Have fun."

Coby took Kimiko's hand as she was still distracted; taking her to another part of the temple.

"Kimiko! C-Can we t-talk?"

"Yeah, apparently we can, what is it, Coby?"

"Remember when you told me that I can talk to you in confidence anytime I needed it?"

"Of course….what's wrong?"

"There's something else I haven't told you guys…"

"What is it?"

Coby gulped a little, suddenly twiddling his fingers and becoming far too nervous and shy to actually speak what was on his mind.

"Well...you see…."

"Yes?"

"I…...I'm gay…"

"...what?"

"I'm gay….you know...homosexual."

"...so?"

"You….you don't hate me now?"

Kimiko shrugged and said: "Why should I? I mean, it's not precisely out of the ordinary that you're gay. Especially when you consider the fact that you confessed that you can change into a wyvern at whim."

"You….you mean it?"

"Yeah, I don't think that's that big of deal."  
Coby felt a little bit relieved, though Coby was still unsure, something that the Japanese girl noticed.

"It's...it's good that you don't mind that I'm gay….but it's not that simple."

"What do you mean?"

Coby played with his fingers, as he blushed.

"It's….well….I…."

"Come on, it's okay! I said, you can speak to me in confidence! No matter what!"

"I got a crush on one of your friends."

"A…..crush?"

"...yes…."

"On who?...on Omi?"

"Oh no, I don't think he and I are compatible in any way."

"Clay?"

"No, I mean he's really nice and all that; but no, he's not my crush."

"OK, and that leaves…..oh…...is it Raimundo?"

Coby was paralyzed a little, not wanting to answer as he could just feel his face going as red as a fresh tomato. Though, it did make it obvious what the truth was.

"So you have a crush on Raimundo."

"Y-y-y-y-yes" Coby squeaked and braced himself, preparing for any worst case scenario. However, instead of what he feared...

"...OK, I can see why." Kimiko commented.

"You…..you do?"

"Yeah, I mean….I don't blame you, the guy has his good looks and his personality...is charming, and he can actually be a great guy...when he takes things seriously,"  
"You, you think so?"

"Trust me…" Kimiko puts a hand on Coby's shoulders "...I got more time knowing him."

"True...heheh….he sounds great…..and has been great to me so far...but...but….I don't know if I can tell him."

"Why not?"

"I...what if...he's not…...you know…."

"Well, you won't know if you won't tell him."

That comment made Coby panic a little, his mind racing with simulations of the worst possible scenarios happening.

"I can't! He'll probably make fun of me! Or reject me! Or...or...or!"

*SLAP*

"Put yourself together, Coby."

"Ah! Okay! Okay!"

Kimiko let out a deep breath and continued as she put her hands on Coby's shoulders:

"Listen, I don't know what can go through your head sometimes, but I promise you that I won't tell anyone about this, and I'll help you with your crush."

"You...you promise? For...for real?"

"Yep….but...on one condition."

"...which is…?"

"You have to confess your feelings to Raimundo for yourself, at least before we find a way to take the Wu out of your arm."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me! You don't know if we managed to remove the Hand and we won't see each other again, so...now, make your choice, you wanna confess by yourself, or you're gonna let someone else do it?"

"Got it, Coby?"

"Yes…..yes...I got it...I'll try…" Coby let out a big sigh, making Kimiko try to comfort him more, a look of sympathy on her face.

"Hey...I think you can do it…"

"'H-how?"

"I'll leave that up to you."

"..."

"Coby…" it was heard Raimundo's voice calling the Greek boy, grabbing the attention of both. "There you are, it's time for your private lessons."

"It….it is?"

"Yeah it is!" Kimiko said as she pushed Coby close to Raimundo "I'll leave you two guys to it, good luck, Coby~" and Kimiko walked away, Coby still gulping as she did so however.

"Come on Cobes, let's go."

"Al...alright…."

Later on, Raimundo and Coby were sitting in a quiet spot within the temple's meadows, the place even had a jukebox and a drum by the side of them as Raimundo and Coby were stretching out on the ground.

"I still don't get why we have to do this just you and me…" Coby muttered, making Raimundo chuckle a little.

"I think it's better this way, I can have your attention so you can't be distracted."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well...I guess...you do have a point….heheh."

"Yeah….aaah….want some help with the stretches?"

"Yes? Or...no?"

"S-sure…"

"Heh, well then~"

Raimundo went close to Coby and help his understudy to stretch his ribcage.

"Now take a deep breathe." Raimundo coached, Coby following Raimundo's instructions exactly, as much as he was far beyond simply being nervous about the situation the moment Raimundo was so close to him.

"That's it...slowly…"

"Slowly…...slowly….." Coby whispered as Raimundo was still close to him, swearing in his mind that he could feel Raimundo touching him.

"Now try to move your left feet a little bit forward."

"Okay….on it…." Coby moved his feet as Raimundo helped to extend his arms, the mere touch on his skin and clothing enough to make Coby blush.

"Now, try to breath on your own."

"Okay…" Coby took deep breaths, just as Raimundo had told and showed him.

"Very good."

"Really?"

"Yeah, try again."

"Okay…." Coby tried again, keeping deep breathes, but then; he felt as Raimundo put a hand on his belly, feeling as the air went in and out. It made his heart begin beating extremely fast.

"Oh no…" Coby thought, "Not now…."

On that moment, Coby was imagining things again: this time, he and Raimundo holding each other close as they're seeing the sunset and the Brazilian boy is whispering sweet nothings to him.

Coby, was absolutely speechless.

"Coby, Are you sure are you relaxing?" Raimundo asked, to which Coby nodded rapidly.

"O...K…now, I think you should be at ease for now." Coby let loose of his body.

"Now, I think I should teach you about Capoeira."

"W-what? Cap of what?"

"Hahahaha….I'll show you." Raimundo gave Coby the drum, but it only confused him more.

"OK, I'll show you some moves and you'll do them too; I'll play the jukebox and you have to play the drum to the rhythm, got it?"

"Okay…." Coby took the drum and sit down, Raimundo went and pressed Play as he was positioning himself. The music was sounding like Brazilian chanting and tropical rhythms, as the beat was coming, Coby was starting to play the drum, although it was difficult for him to get it at first.

Raimundo, meanwhile; he was doing some Capoeira moves, swinging his legs and the rest of his body without missing a beat. Coby just watched in awe, even though it made his heart manage to beat even faster. Seeing Raimundo moved on such a swift manner, was something to admire.

"Focus Coby...you don't want to let Raimundo down." Coby thought as he tried to keep beating the drum at rhythm, but it proved very difficult: his heart was beating fast, his breathing was heavy, and his blush was deeply red. He almost lost focus until suddenly Raimundo stopped and stared at him.

"..."

"..."

"Are you paying attention?" Raimundo asked.

"Y-y-yes!"

"You sure?"

"YesImpayingattentiondon'tmindmejustkeepgoing."

"OK, but remember, watch and tried to do as I do."  
"Alright….." Raimundo kept doing his thing as Coby kept beating the drum; again, it wasn't as easy as it looked. Eventually, the music stopped and Raimundo finished, signaling for Coby to show what he learned.

"OK, your turn now, Cobester!" Raimundo said as he patted Coby's shoulder - Coby however gulped.

"I….OK…" Coby stood up and went right where Raimundo was, as the Brazilian rewinded the song and played again, as Raimundo was playing the drum, Coby tried to imitate Rai's moves, but...he was not the best at dancing by any means and ended up tripping himself onto the ground within seconds.

"Woah.." Raimundo stopped playing both the drum and the jukebox as he checked on Coby.

"Buddy, are you OK?" Raimundo asked, and Coby replied:

"Y-y-y-yes….."

"Here...let me…" Raimundo stretched his hand out to help Coby back up. Though he hesitated at first, Coby ultimately accepted the offer.

"It's OK...everyone flunks at the first try." Raimundo said on his laidback tone as he helped Coby to stand up.

"Heheh, that's alright, I guess." Coby let out an exasperated sigh, Raimundo lightly laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothin'...heheh."

Coby grumbled a little, before taking a deep breath.

Later on, the two of them were lying on the grass, trying to see the clouds come and go.

"Look, buddy...I don't see why are you so upset." Raimundo commented, to which Coby gulped and became more worried.

"Upset? I'm not upset! What makes you think I'm upset?"

"Call it intuition, young pupil….no one likes to commit a mistake, but it's gonna happen."

"Oh…but still..."

"Still?"

"I still don't wanted to disappoint you."

"Disappoint me?"

"Yes….."

"Ha...you serious?"

"..."

"What? C'mon, it's not that big a deal; as a matter of fact, I commited worse mistakes."

"You have?"

"Yeah….let's just say that I fell with the wrong crowd once; maybe one of this days I can tell you the whole story."

"That'd be nice….." then Coby looked at his arm, still with the Hand of Ankoku attached to him, and he asked Raimundo:

"Hey Rai…can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"What do you think about…..homosexuals."

"..."

"It was just a question!" Coby panicked, covering his face, Raimundo however remained silent for a short while. "Well?"

"Um…well...I honestly don't mind them."

"You….you don't?"

"No, I mean...I don't see why I should be bothered by them, it's not like they've ever done me anything."

"Heheh….yeah...I mean, why should attack someone that didn't do anything to you." Coby rubbed his arm, feeling uneasy about the conversation. Raimundo looked back at him, as he scoots closer to him; and Coby embarrassed backs off a little.  
"...sorry, heheh…" Coby chuckled "I got a lot in my mind right now...heheh."

"I bet you do, hahaha."

Coby kept chuckling, until he let a big sigh and sees the armlet on his arm. Raimundo took notice of it:

"Hey…" puts an arm on Coby's shoulder "We'll find a way to free you from that Wu."

"W-when? I can't wait anymore! What if the next thing we know, the Wu will overtake me?"

"We're trying, alright! Who knows when we're gonna find a way."

"What if we don't find a way!?" Coby asked, exasperated "What if I'm condemned for the rest of my life with an armlet that can turn me aggressive without a way to find it!?"

"We found a way." Dojo called as he slithered where Coby and Raimundo were, gaining both of their immediate attention.

"W-what?" Coby asked, "You did?!"

"Oh yes! That's the good news!"

"...and there is some bad news, isn't there?"

"I wouldn't call it that but...I'll tell you guys that the only way to get off the Hand of Ankoku is...slightly complicated."

"How complicated?"

"You'll see; Master Fung and the rest are waiting for you, follow me!" and Dojo slithers away.

"You heard that, Coby...we found a way!" Raimundo coaxed Coby "Now come on…" and Raimundo goes to follow Dojo, leaving Coby a little bit distressed: gulping before he began, far more slowly, giving in to his only option and following them.

"Please tell me it doesn't involve amputation." Coby thought as he was following the Brazilian and the dragon.


	7. The Lavendar Lariat

Coby and Raimundo were already arriving to the main chamber of the temple as Dojo was leading them, on that place; Omi, Kimiko, Clay and Master Fung were already waiting for the two of them. Master Fung was holding what it looked to be an old scroll, possibly having a clue for the Hand of Ankoku. Coby just rubbed the arm containing the Shen Gong Wu with the opposite one, a looking of being nervous and quite possibly scared on his face as he pondered what could possibly be about to be spoken to him at this moment.

"Ah, arriving just in time, I see." Master Fung said, "Very good."

"Sorry if we took long." Raimundo replied "Coby was feeling pretty nervous all the way."

"I…..I…..am…." Coby softly squeaked, "Still, am...I mean."

"I can assure you that the way of liberation can be a treacherous one, but not impossible to walk through."

"Master Fung is right." Omi added, trying to get close to Coby, though Coby still gulped with a look of hesitation on his face. On that moment, Master Fung unfolded a little of the scroll as the monks approached it to have a better look; the scroll depicted the Hand of Ankoku, how it was created and what happened to it as Master Fung narrated:

"The Hand of Ankoku was one of the first Wus to ever be created; it was made as a way to bring up the inner side of a warrior on the outside, an inner darkness of some sort to draw strength; but the results were less than favorable."

Coby gulped.

"What happened?" Kimiko asked

"The first user managed to become a remarkable warrior, but shortly after using the Hand, his heart became tainted with his own anger and insecurities, losing his balance and becoming a violent warrior."

"V-v-violent?" Coby asked "Is that gonna happen to me?"

"Not if you follow through with the process of liberation."

"Process of liberation?"

Master Fung continued:

"After the Hand of Ankoku got out of control, three more Shen Gong Wus were created as a failsafe to undo the bond between the Wu and the user."

Then, they were shown another piece of the scroll regarding the Hand of Anoku, with an image of what it looked an harp, a paper doll and a flower.

"Those three Wus were more than enough to use in unison to release the Hand of Ankoku from the grasp of its first user; but the warrior was in so much shock that he left the temple, never to be seen again. After the Shen Gong Wus scattered, the Hand of Ankoku got a special mechanism, that will activate the three Wus necessary to undo the powers of the Hand, one by one."

"So what you're saying is" Raimundo remarked, "We need to find those three other Wus just to get this one off of him?"

"Not just finding them." Master Fung revealed another part of the scroll, depicting an image of the three Wus, a pond and the moon. "In order to release Coby from the grasp of the Hand of Ankoku; Coby must be led to a pond by moonlight; using the three Wus in unison, alongside another Wu that will coordinate the ritual."

"Well, that should be easy enough!" Clay said, cracking his knuckles and feeling ready for action.

"But...what is this another Wu that'll coordinate the ritual?" Omi asked as Master Fung revealed another part of the scroll, unfortunately; it was ripped off. "Oh my greatness! The scroll is missing it's ending!"

"Well, not all the scrolls in the temple are complete." Master Fung added "I believe the other part is hidden somewhere."

"Like….where?" Kimiko asked; but before Master Fung could answer that question, Dojo was convoluting, feeling that another Wu is on the rise.

"Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! Somethin's comin' up!"

"The first of the Wus?"

"Let's see…" then Dojo takes of the scroll, opening it as the image moved to reveal what Wu they were dealing with; the image shown an image of the staff with a flower on one of the ends, and showcasing the ability.

"The Lavender Lariat!" Dojo exclaimed "One of the Wus needed to realize the Hand of Ankoku Cleansing ritual, this Wu by separate can create any sort of plant life in every spot it touches. A favorite one for any gardener or landscaper."

"Our lucky day!" Raimundo cheered "We better get going." And so, the four monks were running to exit the room, but only stopped when they saw Coby, holding his arm still and looking at them. "Dude, what's wrong?" Raimundo asked, with Coby's response being:

"You….you guys go ahead...I'll wait here."

"Oh no." Raimundo replied "I promised I won't abandon your side, and I intend to keep that promise."

"But...what if...something happens? What….what if the arm activates? Wouldn't it be safer to leave me here?"

"If you don't activate it, I don't think it'll happen."

"But what if I can't help myself?"

"A wolf on a pack can't go on his own." Clay assured, putting a hand on Coby's shoulder "That's where we come in."

"Yeah, you know we have your back." Kimiko assured to Coby with a thumbs up, then Coby sees Omi and is told:

"I don't see why not, as long as you can follow me, of course."

"Lead the way."

Later on, Coby, Clay, Kimiko, and Dojo; already on his giant form were waiting for Raimundo as he needed to go to the Wu vault quickly, Kimiko was wearing a auburn ponytail with a red rose clip on her hair, wearing a black blouse with golden outlines, gray pants and red shoes. Everyone else looked as they normally did.

"Why is he taking him so long?" Coby asked

"He just left and he'll go back." Omi replied "Don't spell your roosters before they crow."

"Huh?"

"I think he means….don't count your chickens before they hatch?"

"Okay….." on that moment, Raimundo arrived, holding what it looked like a rod with thunder ornaments, and a jewel in the middle of the rod.

"Sorry for the delay." Raimundo said as Coby approached him, "This is probably going to come in handy."

"What is this?" Coby asked, not familiar with any Wu at all in all honesty.

"It's the Thorn of Thunderbolt." Raimundo answered "You better get to use a Wu outside of the Hand, just to make sure you don't get crazy."

"Oh...okay." Coby took the Wu and stored it on his waist as he muttered 'Thanks' before riding Dojo with the others. And with that, Dojo immediately soared to the sky as the four held tightly as the dragon took off.

Once in the air, Coby approached Raimundo once more, saying to him softly:

"Um...Raimundo?" Coby asked

"Yeah?"

"You think...I'll end up like that warrior...so distraught that I disappear from everyone's lives?"

"What? No way!"

"...how can you be so sure?"

"Let's just say, it's a gut feeling."

"...I don't know if listening to your guts is a good idea." Coby said with his head "I'm usually more cautious than that."

"Hahahaha...I think I noticed."

"Heheh….heh…..heh." Coby sighed, but then; Raimundo's hand held Coby's, in an reassuring manner that actually helped a smile to grow on Coby's face.

"That's what I like to see from you...try to smile more." Raimundo said, "Keep it up~"

"I...I'll try...for you, at least."

"Good~"

The flight lasted for a while, until they've arrived to Spain, more specifically; the Alhambra Castle. The Alhambra Castle is a palace/fortress located in Southern Spain, being well known for his natural passages and his Arabesque decorations. The palace was breathtaking both inside and outside.

Dojo landed on a spot not far from it as the monks and Coby landed on firm land and Dojo returned to his natural size. They were in the right spot to find the Wu that they were looking for.

"OK, where to start?" Kimiko questioned, "From what I've read, Alhambra is very, very big."

"Sure looks like it. Still not bigger than Texas though." Clay remarked.

"Well, that goes without question."

"Still….we better start looking before anyone else finds him." Raimundo said

"Yeah."

"You said it."

With that, the five go to the main entrance, where most of the tourist were, the five tried their best to not bring too much attention to themselves, as they blend in through the tourists. Though Coby was feeling a little bit uneasy ,even with the monks around him.

 _It's too many people around you, don't you think?_

"Not you again…" Coby muttered, "Leave. Me. Alone."

 _I'm just stating the obvious….but seriously, you're not planning to get rid of me, don't you?_

"Yes. I am."

 _Oh come on, what about that time you used me against that torch-head? You didn't feel so much powerful back when, you can do anything if you keep me. We'll finally get the respect that we craved so badly. No longer we have to be ignored or living in fear on no one liking us; You...we, can be kings._

"Please...I'd...I'd rather just live a normal life…"

 _Have you looked yourself in the mirror? You are not 'normal'._

"La-la-la-la...I'm not listening!" Coby shouted as he put his fingers on his ears, trying to silence that voice. It wasn't as successful as he'd hoped it would be.

 _Don't deny it, I can be the key to Raimundo's heart._

"...please…..l-l-leave me alone."

"Um...I'm here with you." a voice broke his train of thought, as he sees Omi in front of him, listening to him. Coby's eyes widened and he gasped from an initial startling, before calming when he realized what Omi was actually talking about.

"S-s-sorry Omi...I was…."

"You were, what?"

"N-nevermind…"

"Al….right? Let's...try to keep ahead." Coby noticed that he and Omi were way behind, as Raimundo, Kimiko and Clay were waiting for him. Coby the entire time couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Omi and Coby joined the rest as they keep searching:

Like Kimiko had observed earlier, Alhambra was a big place: going from the corridors of the citadels, the plazas, the towers; was pretty challenging to look around and not let the fatigue get them. It proved quite difficult to find the lariat.

After some moments of searching, the five went to one of the gardens to rest their feet,which was precisely when Clay noticed a big bush of lavenders in the distance. It easily caught his attention, as he noticed something special about it.

"Um...Clay?"

"I think I'm seein' somethin'."

"Like what?"

Clay didn't respond, instead; he went through the bushes and saw what was inside of them: a large, silver staff with a violet jeweled lavender on top of the staff.

"I found just what we're lookin' for!"

"Is that the Lavender Lariat?" Coby asked, to which Clay nodded and presented it to Coby and the others.

"Well, that was pretty easy." Kimiko commented as she took it.

"I know….almost" Raimundo grew suspicious quickly, "Too easy…."

"Perhaps you're right, Rai…" a female voice drive the attention of the five, the voice of none other than one of their many enemies, this one of course being Wuya.

"Hello, monks, long time no see~"

"Wuya!" the four monks said as they assumed defense position, though Coby was confused. He didn't know she was, after all.

"Who?" Coby asked.

"Long story."

On that moment, Wuya approached Coby with a jump and a glide: making the boy flench and back up in a bit of fear.

"So this must be the kid with the Hand of Ankoku in his possession."

"..." Coby didn't know what to say or do in this situation, since Coby wasn't feeling Wuya's presence. "H-how do you know?" was all he mustered out. Raimundo stepped in at that point however, as if by instinct practically:

"Back off, Wuya; he's not gonna be your toy."

"Why whatever do you mean, Raimundo?"

"You know what I mean!" Raimundo said as he held Coby close to him. "We're not gonna let you touch Coby, let alone take him to the Heylin side."

"I didn't even say a thing about such a thing! But now do you think of it…." on that moment, Wuya is splashed by Omi, using the Orb of Tornami, "Gah!" Wuya turns around to see Omi,

"Ha! Caught you by surprise, Wuya!"

"I don't take kindly to you, stinky cheese ball." Wuya said, gnashing her teeth and glaring at him.

"I don't take kindly to you either!" Omi said, but then he smirked "Although I think you're forgetting one important detail."

"And what detail might that be?"

"That I was a fun."

"A…...what?"

"Wait...I think it was spelled another way...um….hm….okay, I think I may have forgotten!"

Wuya was not impressed, but before she could say anything, Omi snapped his fingers and said.

"Oh, that's right; it wasn't spelled fun, it was spelled _diversión_ …"

"No, no...you ignorant fool, it's pronounced dai-ver-sion, it's a diversion...wait...diversion." Wuya turns around, seeing that indeed, The Lavender Lariat, along with Coby and the other monks disappeared. That made Wuya angry. "ARGH! OF COURSE!"

*SPLASH*

Meanwhile, with Coby and the monks: they were running for their lives as Clay was holding the Wu.

"Good thing that Omi can be very distracting sometimes." Raimundo spoke, "That was a really nice move of the little guy." On that moment, Omi was riding a wave, using the Kaijin Charm and the Orb of Tornami.

"Thanks Raimundo, a good movement if I can say so myself." Omi replied

Coby was running off as fast as he could, holding the Lavender Lariat on his arms:

"HOW CAN YOU GUYS LIVE LIKE THIS!?" Coby asked, still trying to catch up. "It's so….ah….ah...haaaaaard!"

"...eh, you'll get used to it." Kimiko shrugged off as the four kept running; eventually, the four managed to get out of Alhambra, but right there; Wuya was waiting for them, as well as her own golem army:

"She's got those rock folk again?!" Clay gasped

"Surprised?" Wuya asked in a devious way; "I've managed to improve a little, they're not as strong as the originals...but it's definitely something….now….give me the boy, and the lariat."

"You'll have to take 'em if you wan't 'em!"

"Well, that works for me too." Wuya snapped her fingers, and the golems went towards the monks.

"Clay, guard Coby...we'll deal with the rest." Raimundo said to his cowboy partner, who nodded in response to show agreement. Following that, Clay managed to cover Coby.

"Stay on my back, lil' buddy." Clay said "We got this."

"But...what if you don't?"

"Trust me, we got this in the saddle. Ain't our first rodeo!"

Coby had no other choice but trust Clay, which he tried his best to do.

Omi, Kimiko and Raimundo; on the other hand are doing the best they could against the golems: it was not the hardest thing they've ever done, at least since Raimundo, Kimiko and Omi were trying to work well with each other - something they did well.

"WUDAI NEPTUNE, WATER!"

"WUDAI MARS, FIRE!"

"SHOKU GALAXY, WIND!"

And just like that; most if not all of the golems managed to be gotten rid off easily; leaving Wuya groaning in annoyance.

"Ugghhh! They just don't make good minions like they used to."

"It's over Wuya!" Raimundo said "It's better that you leave us before things get nasty."

"Aw, Rai...tsk tsk tsk; that's not a way to treat an old friend." Wuya said, still in a devious tone as he approached the Brazilian.

"Where was the cool Raimundo? The one who helped oh so dearly when no one cared for him?"

"Hands off, hag!" Kimiko shouted as she and Omi were ready to attack Wuya, but she quickly deflected them and kept talking with Raimundo:

"I bet he's still inside you, waiting for the moment his precious subordinates betrayed him and hurt them again."

"He's got people that care for him now, and he's changed. That Raimundo's not around anymore."

"...such a pity…" on that moment, Wuya held Raimundo rather strongly with one hand around his neck; not letting him breathe. Coby, saw this while still behind Clay; and the meek boy then felt something:

"R-Raimundo!" on that moment, Coby remembered the Wu he was handed to: The Thorn of Lightning. He thought, about using it.

Meanwhile, Raimundo was trying to break free of Wuya's grasp but at the moment it was to no avail. That's when Coby put down the lariat and went running towards Raimundo, but Clay tried to stop him.

"Coby, don't run off!"

"I have to save Rai!" Coby said as he ran off, and ran towards Raimundo and Wuya were, as he draws the Wu, shouting:

"THORN OF LIGHTNING!"

And with that, the Wu was activated, launching a bolt of lighting on Wuya's hand, releasing Raimundo from her grasp.

"Gah!"

"Oomf."

"Raimundo!" Coby went immediately to check if his partner is OK, "Are you okay? Tell me you're okay!"

"I'm not dying, dude...I'm fine...hehe…"

"Are you sure?"

"Coby...I'm fine...just out of air….hehe…"

"Oh great!"

"Heheh."

"You!" Wuya pointed her finger towards Coby, "Why you little, little, ugh!"

"...me?"

"Yes, you!" but then, Wuya takes a deep breath and starts 'bargaining':

"You...must be the host of the Hand of Ankoku, right?"

"...y-yes; what about it?"

"Oh my dear boy~" Wuya approaches Coby in an uncomfortable: "You do realize the power of what you have unfortunately attached on your arm?"

"..."

"Speak up! Do you know or do you not know?"

"YES, MA'AM! I do know what the Hand of Ankoku can do, ma'am!" Coby replied, shouting, "I KNOW!"

"Good~, then why aren't you using them on the right way?"

"I…..I….I…..don't…..I don't want to…."

"Oh, and why not?"

"Because the guys on the temple told me it's dangerous-"

"Oh...so you believed what those monks were saying were truth?"

"I….I…...I….I don't know! All I know is that everytime that I use this...thing, I got angry for no reason."

"That means it's working~, thanks to it, you'll have powers beyond you can even imagine; just think of all the amazing things you could do….well, as long as those monks don't repress you."

"I…..I…...repress….me?"

"Yes, being this nice, goody two-shoes, meek Xiaolin boy; will just...well...let's just say that they will take advantage of you, but if you go Team Heylin on the other hand, that way they'll respect you."

"Respect….me?"

"Wuya...leave him alone…" said Raimundo, trying to save Coby; but once again Wuya deflected him:

"Nice try, Raimundo; but me and this breadstick are talking."

"Breadstick?" Coby asked

"Yeah...just a small observation but you really need to eat more….seriously, you need to get a little bit more fat."

That was the moment Coby started to get angry.

"...Are you Calling me FAT!?"

"What? I said no such thing!"

"Yes you did! You said that I need to get fat! It's bad enough that I'm already this fat!"

"What!?

"You heard me! Just, just GO AWAY!" and on that moment, Coby used the Thorn of Lightning again, trying to shoot Wuya; but the shots kept missing her by that much.

"Ah...ah...you...insolent...ngh!" Wuya received a shot on her behind, "My offer still stands, skinny boy! You'll do much better if you're on the Heylin Side, just wait and see!" and with that, Wuya retreated as fast as she could.

Still, Coby was apparently going berserk; prompting the monks to calm him down:

"THORN OF LIGHTNING! THORN OF LIGHTNING! THORN OF LIGHTNING! THORN OF LIGHTNING! THORN OF LIGHTNING! THORN OF LIGHTNING! THORN OF LIGHTNING!"

"Coby! Chill out! Calm down!" Raimundo shouted as Coby kept shooting, "It's over! It's over!"

"NO! It's not over! I hate her! I hate being called fat! I hate being called ugly! I hate everyone calling me names!"

"She didn't...it's okay! It's alright!"

"And she's gone!" Kimiko added "We won this round."

" ' !" on that moment, a big gale of wind made Coby lose his focus again, and he stopped, once he realized it was indeed, as they said to him, over. Coby dropped his Wu and kneels down, sobbing to himself. "Guys….I...I'm so sorry….."

Raimundo slowly approached Coby and went to give him a soft hug, as he was patting him on the back and soothing him:

"Coby….it's okay, alright? Let's...let's just head back to the temple."

"..."

"...Coby?"

"..."

"You okay?"

"Yeah...let's…."

Later on, back at the temple; almost at sundown, Raimundo and Kimiko were doing their rounds when they spotted Coby, holding big books with both hands and on top of his head:

"Coby?" Kimiko asked, "Is everything okay?"

"I'm paying my penalty for losing control back at Alhambra." Coby responded in a deadpan tone, "Master Fung said it was nothing but I insisted to be punished."

"And, this is it?"

"...yes….losing balance is losing a fight; at least that's what Omi and Fung agreed to."

"Oh, I see...well, I said you did quite enough for today, let's get you some sleep." Raimundo said as he gently took off the books from Coby.

"Rai, I-"

"Ah, ah, ah…no need to say anything; you have quite the ride today and you need some sleep."

"...OK...whatever you *yawn* say."

"Heh, get to bed now~" and with that, the two monks led Coby to the quarters as Coby started to doze off, slowly but shortly was losing consciousness until he finally lost it and fell asleep.

But on that moment, as if in an instant, Coby woke up, once again on the same field on his dreams, or rather nightmares.

"Oh no….not again." Coby said to himself, as he stood up; on that moment, it was as if he knew what was going to happen, or at least had an idea already.

"What did you think you were doing?" the dark shadow appeared in front of him, sounding angry.

"Leave...leave me alone!" Coby tried to ran off, getting as far as he could from the shadow, but the shadow once again appeared in front of him.

"It's bad enough you didn't use me to fight, but you were also planning to get rid of me?"

"Yes! Why don't you attach to someone else's arm?!"

"Because I am in all the desperate help that you need, look at you; so pathetic trying to do your 'delicate wallflower' number, you think anyone will pay attention to you? Or Raimundo?"

"..."

"What Raimundo needs is a BAD boy, someone that goes as free as he and he doesn't take crap of anyone, you on the other hand…"

"How do you know that?!"

On that moment, the shadowy figure grabbed by the collar as his right hand started to reveal itself:

"Are you really this dense!? I told you! I'm the voice that tells you to break stuff up but you prefer not too, and I Won't Let you Get Away to Get Rid of Me!"

"Go away! I don't need you!"

"Bullcrap! YOU NEED ME! AND .YOU!"

"NOOOOOO!" On that moment, Coby woke up, panting and huffing with sweat having formed on his head during the dream. Coby turns around to see if he was in fact on the temple, and he was; as he lets a sigh of relief, on that moment, he spots that Raimundo was started to wake up a little.

"Ngh….Coby?"

"..."

"What happened?…"

"I…..I….nothing, just...*sigh* I just remembered my friend Brandon, I bet he's feeling so lonely without me right now."

"Oh…..you think?"

"Probably….I dunno, I don't even know how many days I've been here anymore…"

"I think, hm….I haven't kept track."

Coby whimpered a little and covered his face, saying "I'm gonna stay here forever, am I?"

"Puh-lease, we got one of the Wus to get the Hand out of you, only 2...maybe 3 more to go,so stop worrying."

"How long is it gonna take?"

"Maybe if you go to sleep, things will go faster."

"I hope so…...but…..well….it's…..I don't know."

On that moment, Raimundo then took Ninja Fred and put him close to his ear, playing as he was saying something to him; even though he knows it's just play, then he directs to Coby:

"Well, Ninja Fred says that he can give some of his luck to you so things can go better tomorrow...though you have to kiss him first."

"Heh, well, okay…..I guess…." and Coby kissed Ninja Fred's forehead as Coby then lied down, but then; Raimundo puts an arm around him, getting him close to him. Coby blushed, but was too nervous to say anything.

"Now both of you share, daddy is gonna take care of both of you~"

"..." Coby had no idea what to say about that line, but still he started to get himself comfortable as he was lying his head on Raimundo's chest, hearing the soothing heartbeats.. Coby remained silent, not knowing what to say.

"Boa noite, Cobito~" (Good night, lil' Coby) Raimundo whispered to Coby's ear, making Coby feel even more awkward about the situation.

"G..g-g-g-good night?"

"Good night~"

And with that, Raimundo drifted to sleep, leaving Coby still feeling awkward, but as the feeling was fading, Coby started to feel comfortable; not just on Raimundo's arms, but also hearing the heartbeat of the Brazilian: it was soothing, calm, sweet.

" _I wish it could be like this forever."_ Coby thought as he was falling asleep on Raimundo's arms, subconsciously looking forward to wake up in his arms...even if he hasn't told what he feels for Raimundo yet, but what Coby didn't know was that at that moment, is that things would indeed begin to look up in the near future, especially on the pursuit of his love.


	8. The Date

It'd been a couple of days since the Xiaolin Dragons and Coby got the Lavender Lariat on their hands - rather easily all things considered; Coby at that time felt that he was one step closer to get rid of the Hand of Ankoku, his blooming dark desires and the nightmares that were haunting him ever since he arrived at the temple, but still; it wasn't enough. None of it was enough.

Coby the entire stay was getting increasingly impatient - even frustrated a bit - for when the time the second Shen Gong Wu for the cleansing ritual became active would finally arrive. Though the four monks, especially Raimundo, reminded him that 'Patience is Key' and that he'd soon be free of the hand's control over him.

But the problem was that a part of him doesn't want to be free of the Hand, not because of the power...but because of Raimundo.

In the middle of the afternoon, Coby was sneaking around the temple, trying to be undetected by any of the roaming monks here and there. Coby was trying to be as light as a feather on his step and the fact that he got active his Wyvern wings did manage to help; as he was walking through the gardens, Coby spotted Clay using the Lavender Lariat to make bushes appear, since he got landscaping duties that day, Coby smiled a little, but he had to keep going, until…

"Hey, partner."

"Oh, hey, Clay….how's it hanging?"

"Pretty good, how 'bout yourself?"

"Um...I was just…" Coby said as he hid his wyvern wings on his back, but it was slightly interrupted by the cowboy's chuckle.

"Hahahaha, it's alright" the blonde said, "You don't have to hide your wings, Coby."

"I…..I….I know...it's just that I'm used to hide them of everyone outside of my family and my best friends."

"Oh really?"

Coby nodded, but then he backed off a little as he kept talking. "Sorry, I just hope you don't mind."

"Nah, I don't mind….but, what's the rush?"

"Rush?"

"Ya look like yer in something of a hurry."

"Ooooh, that's because Kim's waiting for me and I need to see her."

"Oh really now?"

"Y-yeah! I can't say much, i-it's a thing between us...Ithinkishouldgohopeyoudontmindkthanksbye." and Coby flapped off his wings out of there, leaving Clay feeling suspicious:

"Hmmm, why I get the feeling Coby's hiding things for me, let's hope he and Kimiko didn't took all the eggs of the hen house." he thought.

Meanwhile, Kimiko was waiting at a point of the temple, tapping her feet as she waited for Coby to show up. And sure enough…

"Sorry if I'm late!" Coby said as he landed and made his arms took human form again,

"There you are!" Kimiko said as she walked towards Coby "Did anyone follow you?"

"I hope not! Clay distracted me a little, but I don't think he'll follow us…..I...I hope."

"I'm sure he won't….but anyways, did you have any luck?"

"Luck? Luck on...what exactly?"

"You know with what!"

"Ooooooh…" Coby scratched the back of his head "That...well…..it-didn't go as I thought it was gonna go."

"What do you mean?"

-FLASHBACK-

Coby approached Raimundo as he was finishing his exercises with a couple of wooden dummies, the Brazilian was shirtless, only wearing his Shoku Warrior pants and shoes as he was drying himself with a towel, something which made Coby freeze up on the spot as if he lost the ability to talk. Raimundo took a water bottle as he was hydrating himself, and as he was drinking, he noticed Coby looking at him.

Coby could hardly make himself able to make a single sound; and on that moment, Raimundo was in front of him.

"So...did you finished your exercises?" Raimundo asked to Coby, to which Coby remained unable to respond to.

"Coby?"

"..."

Raimundo was very curious, so he waved his palm in front of him, trying to get a reaction out of him. Eventually, he did manage to get something.

"Huh...uh, wha?"

"Coby!"

"YES SIR!" Coby replied making a military salute and blushing.

"I asked you if you finished your exercises?"

"Oh…..um….I….I…..yes?"

Raimundo smirked and asked again "Yes...what?"

"I did?"

"YOU DID WHAT, SOLDIER?"

Coby panicked and returned to his military salute and said: "I FINISHED ALL MY EXERCISES, SIR!"

Raimundo laughed a little, seeing the reaction of his student. He couldn't help but be amused by this.

"W-what's so funny, um...SIR?"

"Hahaha...don't worry, I'm not gonna be drill sergeant around you all the time, I'm way past that."

"Huh?"

"Come on, I'll explain it to you…" and Raimundo took Coby by the hand somewhere else, Coby not knowing what to say or do other than follow. But as Raimundo was leading the way, Coby started to soak in the feeling on Raimundo squeezing his hand as he was being dragged along, it made him feel…..odd inside.

Moments later….

"...and then I had to apologize with my friends because I haven't told them about my plan with Monk Master Guan; thankfully Kim and Clay managed to forgive me easily...Omi on the other hand, it took a little bit more time." Raimundo finished explaining as both teenagers were at the shadow of a tree.

"W-wow….that all….really happened?"

"Basically...I know, it's a lot to take but I can assure, it's OK."

"You sure?"

"Well, yeah. I just said it was."

"...but...did you really felt bad when Guan called you Bobo….or it was pretend too?"

"Um, heh….I'll let you come to your own conclusion." Raimundo winked, as Coby sobbed a little; "What's wrong?"

"I….I don't know….but I feel bad right now."

"Why?"

"I...I don't know; the only thing I know...is...I just can't imagine how horrible it is for you to go with something like that…" then, he looks at Raimundo with watery eyes. "I don't want you to feel bad because they think you're less or like you don't matter!"

"Hey hey hey hey, chill." Raimundo said as he tried to calm down Coby, holding him by the shoulders. "It's cool."

"But...Raimundo….I don't want you to feel bad *sniff* all of you guys were so nice to me when I've arrived to the temple….especially you."

"Look, Coby, you're not making me feel bad."

"I…*sniff*I'm not?"

"No, you're not! I have survived through worst, a couple of insult are not gonna faze me, just rest assured."

"Th-thank you….I'm usually not this emotional."

"Aaawwwww, you're worried about me~"

"Wha-what? N-No...I mean yes, I….I….I…" and then Coby just whined and whimpered, not knowing how to finish his sentence. That was the moment Raimundo wrapped him in a pretty friendly hug, though it was enough to make Coby feel like fainting.

"Coby?"

"..." Coby didn't responded, as he was starting to lose consciousness, the flashback ending then.

-END OF FLASHBACK-

"...well, at least I can't say you didn't try." Kimiko said with a smile, though Coby was still unsure, "I guess. But I need you to try harder, you want to come clean to Raimundo, right?"

"I…..I don't know if I can."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know! I know I want Raimundo to be my boyfriend, but sometimes I feel that he's out of my league, I just don't see myself going as far to see if Raimundo loves me."

"You love who?" a voice interrupted the two, it was none other than Clay, who was scratching his head as he approached them. A curious look on his face. That made Coby panic a little, and hiding behind Kimiko.

"N-Nobody!" Coby said in a frightened state "I didn't say anything."

"I don't think my ears deceive me, 'cuz I heard you were putting the words 'Raimundo' and 'love'."

"..."

Later…. Coby had explained Clay all about his situation, fearing for the worst - as he always automatically does.

"So...is that it? You have a crush on Raimundo?" Clay asked to Coby, who just nervously and silently nodded.

"Well...why don't you just tell him about it?" Clay asked, to which Kimiko added:

"That's what I said to him when he told me that."

Coby didn't know how to answer to that. He was just terrified of the idea of following that bit of advice.

"CLAY! Is not that simple!" Coby said, "Wha….what if….Oh, I can't even think about it!"

"OK, calm down; boy."

"Y-yes?"

"I haven't given my two cents yet."

"Okay….sorry..keep going"

"Now, I'm don't precisely go through that way, but that doesn't mean I don't know a thing or two about making a good impression to the person you love."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Coby asked. "Or….am I not supposed to know?"

"Let's just say that I think it's time we make a move." Kimiko added

"We?"

"Just leave this to us, Coby."

"O-Okay."

Meanwhile, Raimundo was on another part of the temple; practicing some soccer moves, completely unaware of what the three had in mind for him. Once he took a small break, Raimundo looks around.

"Where is Coby?" Raimundo thought, "Haven't seen him all day….I'm starting to worry, the first thing that I wanted him to do…"

"Hey Rai." on that moment, Kimiko appeared from behind, startling the Brazilian:

"Ah! Kimiko! You surprised me, girl! What are you doin' popping up from nowhere?"

"Where were your reflexes, oh great Shoku Warrior." Kimiko snarked with a smile, "Just be glad that Omi wasn't around."

"Ha."

"Anyways, Coby wanted to tell you that he was trying to find more info about the Hand of Ankoku, and he didn't wanted to be disturbed by anyone…."

"Well, he could at least told me that."

"Well here I am being the one to tell you!...and I also want you to do me a favor...as a friend."

"Like what?"

"You have to come here and I'll tell you." and Kimiko dragged him by the wrist - Raimundo just casually smirking and letting her do so. Meanwhile, Clay was with Coby while the meek boy was behind a curtained cubicle - one resembling a dressing changer; Coby didn't seem to come out on his cue, to which the cowboy tried to get Coby out of it. It was harder than one would have imagined it to be.

"Come on Coby...it's time that you come out." Clay said, "And I don't mean like that other way….cuz you already did."

"I'm not coming out!" Coby shouted "This clothes don't suit me at all! I'll look like a clown!"

"Aww come on now, can't be that bad! Those clothes are usually some of my best duds"

"Are….are you sure?"

"Sure, boy; now come on out!"

"Okay….okay!" and on that moment, Coby came out; wearing a completely different outfit: the boy had a short-sleeved green plaid shirt, denim jeans and his usual purple shoes, while also wearing a cowboy necklace around his neck. He was unsure about it, but Clay gave it a thumbs up."C-come on...it's nothing."

"You kiddin'? You're ready for the hoedown more than anything else!"

"Th-thanks Clay...but what am I gonna do with my hair?"

"Hmmmm…...got it!"

And on that moment, Clay put a white hat on Coby's head; completing his 'cowboy' look.

"Now that is a look! And speaking of look, why don't you take a look on the mirror?"

"Do I have to?"

Clay folded his arms and nodded with a stern face, making Coby sigh and comply to the order.  
As Coby looked into the mirror: he saw what he looked like.

"Well...what do you think?" Clay asked to Coby, "I think it looks pretty good!"

"Um...I….I guess so….but...you think it'll be too much for Rai?"

"Aw I'm sure he'll love it!"

"I...I hope so too."

Meanwhile, with Kimiko and Raimundo; Raimundo was checking his clothes to find something to wear.

"So...is that true what Coby said?" Raimundo asked, "Does he really want me to have dinner with him? I don't get why."

"Trust me, he does!" Kimiko replied, "He just wants to thank him for everything you're doing for him."

"Oh, well, alrighty then." on that moment, Raimundo found something

"Um...Kim...do you mind? I'm gonna change."

"Alright, fine." and Raimundo used the curtain of his 'room' so he can change with the girl not noticing him, on that moment; Kimiko was commenting with herself:

"This is probably going to be harder than I think it's going to be...still, let's hope that everything goes smoothly….by a lot."

Meanwhile, with Coby and Clay...Clay was busy trying to get Coby to keep going along with the plan; mainly by trying to get Coby relaxed for the dinner:

"Are you sure is all gonna be okay?" Coby asked "I know that I'm gonna flunk it up somehow."

"Aw come on now, don't be so hard on yourself!" Clay tried to calm Coby down, putting a hand on his shoulder "It won't be a problem even if you screw up."

"I...I hope you're right."

"Atta boy." and Clay gave Coby a friendly slap on the back.

"Heheh...owie..."

"Now come on, let's hope Dojo had finally got the table ready."

"Yeah."

Meanwhile, on the main hallways of the temple; there was set a table with Chinese food ready to be served, on that moment; Dojo; who was wearing a waiter's outfit was giving the finishing touches to the table, while he snarked a little to himself:

"I don't see why the dragon's gotta be the one to set the table, I mean; organizing the table or burning up the table is one thing; but setting them up...that's just plain silly, I can barely do it with this tiny hands." Dojo said as he put the final touches to the table; a red candle as he sets it on fire. "And at top of that, I had to do the cooking as well...not complaining, I don't mind cooking."

On that moment, Coby and Clay have arrived on the scene, making Dojo stop his snarking and turn his attention over to them instead:

"Oh, bonjour monsieur Coby; you've arrived almost in time for the dinner, I'll be your sommelier for the evening."

"Heheh, bonjour, too?"

"I'll leave you guys alone now, good luck partner." Clay said that as he left Coby alone with the dragon and Coby decided to have a sit.

"Nervous?" Dojo asked

"...yes….a lot."

Dojo let put a loving sigh and replied: "The sweet awkwardness of the first date, never changes."

"G-g-guess so."

"Hey, chin up; my brother, it's gonna go fine, just try to be you."

"Be me….be me….." Coby said as he closed his eyes and repeated himself those words, when suddenly: Raimundo arrived.

"Yo!"

"GAH!" Coby fell on his back, not having expected such a quick arrival; though he still had the eyes closed. "R-R-Raimundo?"

"Open your eyes, I won't bite."

"O-kay…" Coby slowly opened his eyes to see Raimundo, and Raimundo himself was dressed sharply: The Brazilian was wearing a dark green shirt over a black and white jacket, dark gray pants and white running shoes; he also had green bracelets on his body and what it looked like a golden pendant. "W-w-w-wow."

"What?"

"...n-n-nothing! It's just…." that's when Coby thought; "It's just that you look so beautiful."

"Well, you look pretty good too, though a little western."

"I...I was trying a new style, that's all."

"Heh, well, it's alright I guess."

"Th-thanks…"

"...are you not gonna stand up?"

"Oh! Heheh...sorry.", and with having been said Coby stood up with a nervous blush coupled with his arm being rubbed as well as a sheepish smile plastered on his face. Both boys sat down as Dojo was serving a sparkling drink for the two of them.

"If anyone needs anything, let me know by ringing the bell on the table." Dojo pointed at a bell on the table,

"Got it, Dojo."

And with that, the dragon made a bow and slithered off, leaving both teenagers as they started to eat their first course: seasoned rice.

"Sooooo, you like the rice?" Raimundo asked as Coby ate a spoonful of it.

"Yeah...I didn't knew rice can be so delicious, hehe...what am I saying?"

"Hahahahaha" Raimundo chuckled "That's funny, tell another one."

"You, you think I'm funny?"

"Only in an incidentally funny kind of way."

"Well...I don't think it was THAT funny...I'm no good at telling jokes or one-liners."

"Hey, c'mon, don't sell yourself short; I've already told you that you're awesome."

"T-true….thank you…."

"So..how are things on the Land Down Under, eh mate?"

"Haha" Coby chuckled, "Well, they're okay, I guess." he explained, "Back at home, almost no one knows that this...well...this not what I look like really."

"...uh, what do you mean?"

"You know….a wyvern."

"I'm confused…..do you mean you walk around in wyvern form all day, or what?"

"N-NO! If I did that, not only everyone's gonna be after me and my family, I'll also get in big trouble! It's just that…..I still don't get why do I have to fit in with normal looking people around me, it's very stressful."

"Oh…..sounds rough. I can relate."

"You can? How?"

"You think that being the leader of my team is all 'spouting orders' or 'looking good in the center'?"

"..."

"Yes? No?"

"I guess, not? I...I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"Asking."

"There's nothing wrong with that" Raimundo chuckled again, "C'mon, it's alright. I'm a nice guy, I won't bite ya."

"I know…..at least I can trust you."

"Yep, you bet you can~"

Later on, the two boys went on the second course: a salad with creamy dressing.

"So I was telling you, being a leader sometimes isn't as fun as it looks like." Raimundo commented "I'm responsible on making sure my teammates don't get into danger; I can get really concerned about all of them….especially Omi."

"Especially Omi?"

"I mean, have you seen how the little guy behaves?"

"Hahaha….I have...I see what you mean."

"Speaking of, how are your friends treating you? I spent a good while now telling you about mine."

"The few friends I have have treated me greatly."

"That's good…...can you say a little more though?"

"S-sure, first; there's Brandon: he's been by best friend since I was in diapers. And I really like being around him, he's been one of the first ones to not make me feel like a freak. And then there's Ingrid: I honestly have not much time meeting her since me and Brandon met her at middle school, but she's really smart and both of us really appreciate when she help us with our homeworks."

"You sound like quite the trio~"

"We are…kinda like you guys...except one less."

"I know how to count, Coby; just because I grew on the slums doesn't mean I'm stupid, heheh…"

"You….you grew up...in slums?"

Raimundo's eyes widened and giggled nervously, trying to save face.  
"Well, looks that little piece of personal life slipped, hahaha."

"Y-y-yeah…heheh"

That made both of the guys giggle, while all of this is happening; Dojo, Kimiko and Clay were observing the situation behind some of the bushes:

"Do you think it's going well?" Clay asked to Kimiko, "I've never done this before, so I don't know."

"Well...they're laughing...so it might be a start." Kimiko observed, "I think we just need to give it a bit of time!" on that moment, the bell rang.

"Duty calls." Dojo said as he directed to the table to see what did they want.

A short time later, after they had gotten their next course: specifically a simple salad, Coby was continuing his session of talking to Raimundo:

"I...I want some advice.."

"Well, what type of advice?"

Coby, didn't said anything; and started to blush, his responses turning from speech into intelligible whispers and murmurs.

"Um...what's that?"

"..."

"Well?"

"L….l…"

"Yes? Yes? Yes?"

"L-l-l-love…"

"Love?"

"YES! LOVE!" Coby covered his mouth after responding, "...advice."

"Love, huh? Then why didn't you told me the first time."

"..."

"Nevermind; still...I think I can help you with somethin'"

"Like what? Is it gonna be hard?"

"Depends on what kind of advise you want."

"Well…...I guess...what I need...is…" and Coby took a deep breath, "You see...one of my...classmates...has a crush on someone."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah...and...for when I get back, how do I help him?"

"Well, he doesn't have to be THAT shy, just tell your classmate to be true with his feelings; and maybe he can give her some nice things like roses or chocolates, you can never go wrong with the classics."

"H-her?"

"OH….um...replace with him? Look I'm not really good with the mushy mushy kinda stuff."

"Him?"

"...did I offend you?"

"N-no...you're right; I'm not-I mean, he's not good with the 'mushy mushy kinda stuff' either; hehe...but he still, my classmate wants to be with his crush...but he doesn't know if he's gay or not."

"I see…"

"And….yeah…."

"So….is that all?"

Coby nodded:

"It is…..so….what can I do?"

"Hmmmmm….well...I think my point still stands, I think he should be honest with his feelings first of all.  
"You...really think so?"

"I think it's worth the shot...if it fails...at least you've tried."

"I-I guess….I guess I, I mean he...He! Can give it a try."

Raimundo, raised his eyebrow, but didn't adress things any further than that.

"OK…..how's the salad?"

"It's pretty good, actually..are those cranberries? Hehe..."

"Hahaha"

After a little bit of time later, the two were finishing their dessert: buñuelos, a much more cultural meal.

"Mhmmm...that's the stuff~" Raimundo said as he was eating his buñuelo,"Yummy, huh?"

Coby nodded, with a smile, but not saying anything.

"It has been fun having dinner with you...as a friend, right?"

"Yeah, as a friend." Coby, replied; giggling nervously, "Friend….heheh."

On that moment, music could be heard in the air: the sound of a violin. A classic addition to any romantic outing.

"I like the sound of the violin in the air, do you?" Raimundo asked to Coby,"or am I losing my mind?"

"N-no….I...I hear the music too."

"Well, at least it's not just me.", as Raimundo was standing up, he then approached to Coby, "Soooooo….."

"So, so what?"

"Care for a dance?"

Coby froze in response to that, is eyes resembling a deer caught in headlights. He had absolutely no idea at all how to respond.

"...as a friend?" Raimundo finished asking.

"..."

"...Coby?"

"Y-yeah...as a friend!"

"A friend!"

"A friend!"

"JUST DANCE ALRE-MHMHMMGMMM!"

"Huh?" the two heard a semi-familiar voice, though the two didn't know from which direction went, and so both shrugged and ignored it. Raimundo immediately took the lead, being far more knowledgeable on the subject of dance than even Coby was. Coby just let himself be swayed away by Raimundo's superior skills.

"How are you feeling, Coby?" Raimundo asked on a friendly tone, "Asking as a, you know, friend."

"Um….fine...I guess; "as a friend; of course."

"Hahaha, yeah."

The awkwardness was felt between the two as they danced, though Coby was starting to slip up due to his lack of experience. Luckily, Raimundo, was there to catch him before he could fall onto the floor. However, him doing that made Coby continue to freeze up and become nearly incapable of speech.

"Why is he so near ro me?" Coby asked in his head, "Why…..why can't I….I…..why…"

"You can't...what? Take advantage and own him!"

"NO! LEAVE. ME. ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE! ALONE ALONE ALONE ALONE ALONE!"

"You're a good dancer~" Raimundo's voice brought him back, snapping him back to reality. After he was soon seeing Raimundo's modest smile, the wyvern boy was smitten by it. Then again, he was smitten by Raimundo in general.

"Raimundo….." Coby whispered, "Raimundo….Raimundo…"

"I'm here, Coby…"

"Raimundo….I…."

"Yeah?"

"I...I gotta go…" Coby immediately released himself from Raimundo's grasp and left the place rather quickly, leaving Raimundo perplexed, raising an eyebrow as he watched Coby leaving.

After a short silence….

"OK, Coby's gone...you can come out now….you know I can see you."

With that, Kimiko, Clay and Dojo came out from the places they were hiding from - sporting sheepish smiles to their faces as they did so.

"What were you guys doing?" Raimundo asked, "And don't tell me nothing!"

The three started to explain themselves after looking to each other and silently finding a way to pass this off to Raimundo:

"We were just, um…" Clay was quickly out of an idea, so Kimiko had to step up to the plate:

"Making night gardening!"

"Oh yeah?" Raimundo was highly skeptical, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-yeah, I think it's better trimming the bushes once it's night, you don't have to deal with the heat of everything...haha...Th-thanks for helping me, Clay"

"Ah, it's no problem Kimiko!"

"Well, I think we should better go to sleep, we have a lot of stuff to do on the morning...um...SEE YA!" And Kimiko and Clay quickly dashed away, leaving Raimundo and his skepticism to his own. Dojo though was slower to get out of the room, and so Raimundo looked at him:

"I supposed you were also night gardening, aren't you Dojo?"

"Huh? Oh, oh me? Oh yeah! Yep! Night gardening! It's a really fun hobby, maybe you should try it!"

"And I also have to dress like a waiter to do that to 'enhance the experience', right?"

"Oh yes! It really helps the plants grow!"

"...how?"

"It….um…..uh…..BYE!" and with that Dojo zipped out of the room as quickly as the small green size shifting dragon could. That didn't help the Brazilian to feel less suspicious.

"I smell a set-up." Raimundo thought, eyebrow still being raised. "Things were really being pretty weird since Coby settled in...then again...Coby didn't notice it?...I'm still waiting for him to make a move."

Meanwhile, Coby returned to the bedrooms and went straight to the place where he and Raimundo shared a room. Needless to say, Coby was shaking with nervousness after the experience that had just happened - still trying to mentally process everything.

"What just happened?" Coby said to himself, "What. Just. happened?! Does Raimundo like me?...no, it can't be right...why would he? Maybe I'm just out of my mind...yeah, I'm out of my mind." with that, Coby positions himself trying to sleep off, but as he was sleeping; the shadow of a familiar face was looking at Coby sleeping with a frown of his face.

This face, was none other than Omi himself, and he wasn't happy with Coby:

"Coby….I'm starting to feel that you're starting to steal attention from Raimundo...like someone else once did…." Omi's eyes squinted towards Coby at that point, "I have my eyes on you."


End file.
